K is for Keyblade Final Mix
by S.P.D. Gold Ranger
Summary: I decided to do a Final Mix edition of the first chapter of my W.I.T.C.H. Keyblade Legacy trilogy, complete with added scenes, new footage, and a new fight. My branchild. Is. BACK! Read the original first if you haven't to understand what I changed.


(Nick's P.O.V.)

We had just recently returned from the mystical realm of Candracar after learning about our newfound title as "Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions", along with our new abilities, hoping to relax for a while and just deal.

The problem?

Once we returned to Heatherfield, we noticed that everything was covered in complete darkness that seemed to envelop everything in its path. We were completely shocked.

"What the heck happened?" Will asked.

"It looks like one of those old black and white movies Chris is always bugging me about," Irma stated.

"Didn't we defeat Phobos and stop his dark takeover thingy?" Hay Lin asked.

"It's not Phobos," I replied. "It's much worse that he could EVER be."

"Are you sure?" Cornelia asked in denial. "What could be worse than that freak trying to corrupt my best friend?"

"Trust me, Corny. This is very, VERY bad."

I looked up, straight at the evil-darkened skies of Heatherfield.

"The Dark Keyblade has been released..."

(End Nick's P.O.V.)

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(We all know that there are heroes of light and villains of darkness, and that they all try to destroy each other. The point they keep missing is that light and dark are like brothers. One can't exist without the other. Why don't they get it?)

S.P.D. Gold Ranger presents:  
_W.I.T.C.H._ in: "K is for Keyblade Final Mix"  
Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure  
Rating: K+ for some violence, 'moments' and a bit of harsh language  
Summary: I figured I could add some extra content to the first chapter of my "W.I.T.C.H.: The Keyblade Legacy" trilogy and turn this into a Director's Cut, or "Final Mix" edition of the original _K is for Keyblade._ I touched up on a few scenes, added some extra footage, and even put in a special trailer for _The Keyblade Warriors_ instead of just a little teaser footage The biggest new scene, in my opinion, takes place during the Battle of Meridian Plains. Simply put: My. Brainchild. Is. BACK!

Quick Note: For those of you who haven't read the original _K is for Keyblade_ and come upon this story, I would STRONGLY SUGGEST you read the original completely before reading this Final Mix version, so you'll understand what I changed and added while bringing _K is for Keyblade Final Mix_ to life.

W.I.T.C.H. is copyright SIP Animation and JETIX. This story is copyright S.P.D. Gold Ranger, December 2006. This takes place during the animated series, after the season 2 episode "C is for Changes".

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"The... Dark... Keyblade?" Will repeated. "What the heck is a Keyblade, anyway?"

"Um, duh, Will?" Irma replied. "That's the thing Nick brought with him, that helped the Oracle take the Veil out?"

"Oh, THAT'S a Keyblade!" Will exclaimed. "He never really told us what it was called."

"There's no time to quibble, Guardians," Nick replied. "If the Dark Keyblade's been released, we need to find whoever took it and stop them."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Cornelia said, shaking her head. "How do you even know if this 'Dark Keyblade' is responsible for what happened here?"

Nick hung his head. This was the one question he hoped they wouldn't ask him.

"Because, girls..." he said sadly. "The Dark Keyblade was what consumed the light of my best friend years ago..."

(Begin Nick's story)

You see, a few years before I came to Heatherfield, I used to have a great friend named Cassidy. She was very nice, super-sweet, and quite possibly the best friend I could ever have. That is... until she changed.

_Nick looked around. Cassidy was missing, and he was worried sick. The last time he'd seen her was before their group had taken a turn up the forked path that led to the summit. "Cassidy?" Nick called out. "Oh, Cassidy, where are you?" Nick suddenly noticed a mysterious light around the next corner. "I hope that's her..."_

One day, Cassidy's science was taking a field trip to the mountains. I was in Cassidy's group, but we'd been separated. Cassy stumbled upon a mysterious cave that appeared to be sealed by a mystical energy. I don't know how she got past the seal, but in that cave, she found the Dark Keyblade and was consumed by its dark power.

_Nick found Cassidy holding a mysterious, key-like weapon nearby._

"_Cassidy! Oh, thank god I found you!" Nick said, but stopped short when he noticed that Cassidy's eyes, normally a bright sapphire, were glowing a fierce red, reacting to the weird weapon she was holding._

_Suddenly, Cassidy lunged for Nick, swinging the mysterious weapon at the hapless boy._

_As Nick held his hands up to block the attack as best he could, a bright flash covered the area, and when it cleared, Nick was holding a weapon similar to Cassidy's in weapon type, although it looked completely different from Cassidy's weapon._

_As he studied the weapon that was holding Cassidy back, the word _Oathkeeper_ ran through his head._

I finally found Cassidy, but she had completely changed. Consumed by the evil energy residing in the Dark Keyblade, she was no longer the Cassidy I remember. Even worse, she tried to kill me with the Dark Keyblade! It seems that Candracar knew of the Dark Keyblade's power as well, because just before Cassidy could attack me, I received the Oathkeeper keyblade from the Council, though at the time I had no idea where it had really come from. Feeling confident, I did battle with the possessed Cassidy. When we reached a stalemate after every blow, I realized I had no other choice.

_Nick swung the mysterious Oathkeeper as if he'd had it all of his life, trading blow after blow with the possessed Cassidy, who was angrily wielding the Dark Keyblade, as she'd called it._

_Just barely blocking a jumping lunge from Cassidy, Nick retaliated with a 360 spin attack. He'd never been this agile before!_

"_Cassidy! You have to snap out of it!" Nick shouted, hoping to pierce through the power of the Dark Keyblade and get his friend back._

_The redhead didn't respond, completely consumed by the darkness._

'_Guess I have no other choice,' Nick thought, raising the Oathkeeper above his head. The mystical blade began glowing with otherworldly power._

_Just as Cassidy charged, Nick whispered, "I love you, Cassidy..."_

_Just then, Nick brought the glowing Oathkeeper down hard, felling the possessed Cassidy with one final strike. The force of the attack proved to be too much for the redhead to handle. She soon disappeared in a shower of strawberry red sparks. The only thing left of her was a small crystal pendant._

I poured all the power I could into the Oathkeeper and felled Cassidy with one final strike, releasing her spirit from the force of the Dark Keyblade. The only thing left of my former best friend was a small crystal pendant, very similar to the Heart of Candracar. I took the Dark Keyblade and placed it back in the cave where Cassidy found it, and using the Oathkeeper, I placed a mystic seal on the cave entrance, so no one would ever be consumed by its evil power again.

That was the last I ever saw of Cassidy...

(end Nick's story)

The girls could only stare at Nick as he finished his tale, the Oathkeeper – a silver, spiky-handled keyblade with a rainbow star on the tip – materializing in his hands.

"You see, long ago, I'd made a promise to Cassidy that I'd protect her no matter what it took. I have a feeling that's why I got the Oathkeeper – because that blade and the keychain dangling from it represented the promise I'd made. I swore that I'd never forget that promise as long as I wielded the Oathkeeper..."

Everyone present and accounted for was speechless, even Cornelia, who didn't usually believe in such long-winded tales. What was even more surprising was that Cornelia was the first to offer up a bit of comfort.

"Oh, Nick... I never knew..." Cornelia said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Cornelia," Nick replied. "It's the fault of whoever wielded the Dark Keyblade long ago. Now that it's back, we need to find whoever's released it."

Irma came over and wrapped her arms around Nick.

"You really loved her, didn't you?" Irma asked.

"Yeah. I felt so bad after I had to take her down. I'm just glad she's resting peacefully up in heaven," Nick explained, wiping a few tears out of his eyes.

"Where do you think whoever has the Dark Keyblade is hiding?" Taranee asked, adjusting her glasses.

"We'd better get back to Candracar. Maybe the Oracle knows something about this," Nick stated, the Oathkeeper glowing brightly. Before Will could pull out the Heart of Candracar, Nick did a sort of 360 spin and attacked with the mystical blade, the Oathkeeper tearing a hole in space-time that led to Candracar's royal palace.

"Wow! I didn't know that key thingy could do that!" Hay Lin exclaimed as Nick twirled the Oathkeeper in his hand.

"Hey, if you've had something like this for a few years, you'd know just what these things can do," Nick replied. "And that's just for starters. But I'll explain their mystic powers later. Come on, girls!"

Together, the Guardians entered the portal, eventually ending up back in Candracar's royal palace, the Oracle standing before them.

"Back so soon, Guardians?" the Oracle said in a calm voice. "Is there trouble?"

"You don't know the half of it, Your Majesty," Nick said, holding the Oathkeeper behind his back. "We went back to Heatherfield, but it was covered with an evil energy. Do you know anything about the Dark Keyblade?"

The Oracle's usually closed eyes shot straight open at Nick's mention of the Dark Keyblade. "The Dark Keyblade has been released? Are you sure?"

Saying nothing, Nick brought the Oathkeeper out from behind his back and showed it to the Oracle. The Oracle's eyes closed again. "So, you know, then?"

"I sure do," Nick replied. "Do you know who released it?"

"Unfortunately, I do. Guardians, this may well be your toughest mission yet," the Oracle replied, launching into a story.

"Many years ago, we had chosen another set of Guardians much like yourself. Kadma of Earth, Halinor of Fire, Cassidy of Water, Yan Lin of Air, and Nerissa of the Heart-"

"WAIT! Cassidy was a Guardian?" Nick exclaimed. "Seriously?"

"Would I lie?" the Oracle responded.

"So that's why she always stormed off in the middle of class!" Nick looked back at the Oracle. "Sorry. Please continue."

"Gladly," the Oracle stated. "These Guardians were much like yourselves... until Nerissa, keeper of the Heart of Candracar, was consumed by the infinite power of the Heart. Fearing the worst, we entrusted the Heart to Cassidy. We had no idea what was about to happen because of this decision..."

"_What's happening to Nerissa, Your Majesty?" Cassidy asked the Oracle._

"_I fear she may be corrupted by the infinite power of the Heart of Candracar. That is why I am entrusting it to you. It is the only way to save her," the Oracle explained._

"_Thank you, Oracle," Cassidy said as she received the crystal pendant. "I won't let you down."_

_Just out of earshot of Cassidy and the Oracle, Nerissa had heard everything. Consumed with jealousy, she stormed off..._

"Let me guess. Nerissa went crazy like Chris on a sugar rush?" Irma inquired.

"Exactly. Nerissa, corrupted by the Heart's infinite power, turned on her fellow Guardians, nearly killing them. She conjured up a mysterious weapon from the now-corrupted Heart and declared war on Candracar."

"Yeesh, talk about jealousy," Will examined.

"_Give me the Heart, water girl!" Nerissa exclaimed, beckoning to Cassidy and the Heart. Cassidy stood her ground._

"_No."_

_Suddenly, Nerissa held her hand out to the distraught Water Guardian. Cassidy's eyes widened as Nerissa hit her with a powerful blast of electricity that knocked her off of the cliff they had been fighting on for a while. Suddenly consumed with fear over what she'd done, Nerissa ran off, tears streaming from her eyes._

"That weapon was none other than the Dark Keyblade. The battle only ended when I used my power to defeat Nerissa and seal her in Mount Thanos, only to be released when the 5 elements were united," the Oracle continued with his story.

"Wait. You don't think Nerissa's the one controlling the Dark Keyblade now?" Nick wondered. "Even if that's true, how did she get out? We never united our elements before, but –"

Nick's monologue stopped on a dime as he realized. "Of course! It must have happened when we fought Phobos! We combined our powers with Elyon's and defeated that little freak!"

"Yes, Guardians. Now that she is free, you are going to need all the power you can get if you wish to have any hope of defeating Nerissa." The Oracle raised his hand, and 5 beams of light shot from his open palm and into the sky. A few seconds later, said beams flew into the girls' hands, materializing into what appeared to be Keyblades.

"Will Vandom. Energetic and powerful, you shall control the Hero's Crest," the Oracle stated as Will looked her blade up and down. The handle was basically the Heart of Candracar without the crystal, and the tip of the blade held a bright red star. The Heart itself was dangling from the keychain. "Cool! And you don't usually hear that from me," Will exclaimed.

"Irma Lair. Sweet like the morning tide, you shall control the ocean's trident: the Mysterious Abyss." Irma's keyblade had a handle that curved outwards into a blue cloud pattern. The tip held what looked like a jewel-encrusted mermaid's tail. A wave crest was dangling from the keychain. "Wow! It's so sweet!" Irma replied.

"Taranee Cook. Wild and passionate as fire, you shall wield the Bond of Flame." Taranee's new keyblade was silver and red, had a handle surrounded by small spikes, and the tip, or "attacking" segment, was what appeared to be half of a chakram. A flame crest was dangling from the keychain. "Nice!" Taranee exclaimed.

"Cornelia Hale. Firm and strong as the earth itself, you shall wield Seismic Star." Cornelia looked at her keyblade. The handle was decorated with what appeared to be a compass. The tip of the blade was adorned with what appeared to be 3 tiny jackhammer blades, and Cornelia's element symbol was dangling from the keychain. "I wonder if Elyon would like this?" Cornelia asked herself.

"Hay Lin. Eloquent and friends with the wind, you shall control the Sword of the Storm." Hay Lin was positively exhilarated as she looked at her keyblade. The handle was decorated with all kinds of ancient writing, and the blade formed what appeared to be a lightning bolt with a moon crest at the tip. A thundercloud was dangling from the keychain. "Is it light on its feet, like me?" she asked.

"Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions, you now control your own Keyblades. Use them in victory, and..."

Before the Oracle could finish his sentence, a loud crash could be heard all over the castle. "What was that?" Cornelia asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better find out," Nick responded, holding the Oathkeeper in a battle stance.

"Guardians," the Oracle said. "You can unite your Keyblades to gather even more power when you transform."

"Best news I've heard all day!" Irma exclaimed.

"Shall we, everybody?" Nick asked as the 6 kids raised their respective Keyblades into the air, touching them together as the Heart of Candracar appeared and began glowing very brightly.

"_Quintessence!"_ Will exclaimed.

"_Water!"_ Irma shouted.

"_Fire!"_ Taranee continued.

"_Earth!"_ Cornelia added.

"_Air!"_ Hay Lin exclaimed.

"_Thunder!"_ Nick finished.

"_Guardians, Unite!"_ they all shouted, covering the room in a cocoon of light energy. Once the light cleared, all 6 of them were in their Guardian getups.

"Girls," Nick said, twirling Oathkeeper in his hands, "let's do what we came here to do."

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As the 6 Guardians stood in battle-ready stances, each one wielding their chosen Keyblade, Nick looked onwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of their attackers.

As the rumbling sound intensified, Nick caught sight of the intruders – 4 of them, to be exact: a bulking, Medusa-haired muscleman with dark wings; a purple-skinned man carrying two enormous axes; a flaming hot (literally!) woman with bat wings and a long trident; and a bald, muscle-bound man with angel-like wings and a short, double-edged axe.

"Well, well, looks like we weren't the only ones invited to the party," Nick said sarcastically, the Oathkeeper glowing.

"Enough of your nonsense," the Medusa-haired guy retorted. "Knights of Vengeance, ATTACK!"

With that, all 4 of the Knights charged. However, before the Guardians could attack, someone shouted "THUNDER!" and a powerful lightning bolt shot from the sky and struck the spot where the Knights were charging, sending them all off balance.

The girls looked at Nick, since they knew his element was thunder. But he had a confused look on his face. "That wasn't me."

All of a sudden, the lava girl stumbled forward, as if she had been attacked by something. The Guardians looked on in wonder as one by one, the Knights fell to the ground, finally revealing the ones who had just attacked – an upright-standing duck with blue and silver clothes and a staff with a mage's hat on the tip; what appeared to be an upright-standing dog in green and yellow clothes and holding a shield; and a boy with spiky hair and silver and black form-fitting clothes with traces of red, blue, and yellow. The boy was carrying what appeared to be a Keyblade! The Knights slowly composed themselves and looked angrily at the new trio.

"Why you..." the Medusa-haired guy said. "How DARE you attack the Knights of Vengeance?"

"Knights or not, you Heartless need to be taught a lesson," the boy said, holding his Keyblade in a fighting stance.

"Heartless?" Will asked. "What the heck are those?"

"Yeah!" the duck replied. "You can't just waltz around while we're around!"

The boy spun his Keyblade around in his hands and shouted "THUNDER!" again, only this time, Nick shouted the same thing, while the duck raised his staff and shouted the same enchantment. The triple bolts of electricity struck the Medusa-haired guy, sending him sprawling to the ground. The girl with the trident charged for Nick, swinging the weapon, but Nick easily countered it with Oathkeeper.

"This is impossible! No one can deflect the trident of Ember the Pain!" the lava girl shouted, trying to break through Nick's defenses.

"Well, apparently, I just did," Nick said before charging forward, pushing Ember back with him. After a while of this, Nick did a 360 spin and struck hard with the Oathkeeper, easily cleaving Ember's trident in half. Nick motioned to Irma and Hay Lin, who nodded and flew into the air, Nick following suit. The three raised their keyblades into the air.

"Whoa! Since when did these kids get keyblades?" the new boy exclaimed.

"Hey! I'd appreciate it a lot if you didn't call us kids," Will said to the Keyblade-bearing boy. "I'm practically a teenager by now!"

Nick, Irma, and Hay Lin's keyblades began glowing as a thundercloud appeared above the trio of Guardians.

"WATER!" Irma shouted.

"AIR!" Hay Lin shouted.

"THUNDER!" Nick shouted, the thundercloud above them growing in size. The trio flew away as the cloud began producing one heck of a rainstorm. Nick, Irma, and Hay Lin directed their keyblades towards Ember, and the rainstorm began dousing Ember, making her scream in pain.

"What's wrong with her?" Will asked.

"Hey. She's made of freaking _lava_," Nick replied. "Pretty obvious, huh?"

That said, Nick was about to raise the Oathkeeper for a final strike, but before he could, a shower of dark energy blasts struck all around, knocking the Guardians and the mysterious trio to the ground.

Nick quickly looked around to see who had just attacked them. It turned out to be another teenage girl with long, flowing black hair and a ruby-red outfit. In her hand was...

"The Dark Keyblade!" Nick exclaimed.

"I take it you're Nerissa?" Will asked.

"Correct, my foolish Guardian," Nerissa retorted, calling forth the Knights.

"You..." Nick said angrily, slowly regaining his composure. "You! You're the reason my best friend is dead!"

In a blind rage, Nick brandished the Oathkeeper and charged for Nerissa.

The former Keeper simply raised the Dark Keyblade and deflected Nick's incoming attack. Nick leaped back and charged again, the Oathkeeper charged with a bright orange energy.

Screaming loudly, Nick began rapidly attacking with the charged Oathkeeper, slamming it fiercely into Nerissa's robed form. When the Ars Arcanum attack was over, Nick was surprised to see that his attack had barely left a scratch on Nerissa.

"You want to die first? Okay, then," Nerissa stated, swinging the Dark Keyblade for Nick. He couldn't get the Oathkeeper around in time, and was sent crashing to the floor.

"Is that the best the Keyblade wielder can do?" Nerissa stated, disappearing in a column of darkness before Nick could strike, the Knights of Vengeance disappearing with her.

"No!" Nick shouted, falling just short of where Nerissa used to be. "Damn it!"

The other Guardians looked on as the mysterious trio got to their feet.

"Would someone like to explain what's going on here?" the boy with the gold and silver keyblade asked.

"Long story," Nick said, getting to his feet. "How about we introduce ourselves before I say what just happened?"

"Good idea," the boy said. "I'm Sora. This is Donald," motioning to the duck with the staff, "and Goofy," motioning to the dog with the shield.

"I'm Nick Kelly," Nick said. "This is Will Vandom," pointing to each of the Guardians in turn, "Irma Lair, Taranee Cook, Cornelia Hale, and Hay Lin."

"Cute outfits," Sora noted. _This_ brought a genuine blush to Will's face.

"So, Sora," Irma asked, walking up to Sora. "When did you get that Keyblade?"

"I was about to ask you guys the same thing," Sora replied.

"Like I said, Sora, 'long story'. Okay, here's what's going down..."

For at least 30 minutes, the Guardians talked with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Nick told Sora the story of how his old friend Cassidy was consumed by the Dark Keyblade. Sora told the Guardians of the adventures that he, Donald, and Goofy had been on and how he was still searching for his friends Riku and Kairi.

"Okay, I think I understand now. That girl with the Dark Keyblade used to be a Guardian until she was corrupted by this Heart of Candracar and rebelled, right?" Sora repeated.

"Exactly," Nick replied.

"And we need to stop this Nerissa before the entire world is covered in darkness?"

"You said it," Irma added. "I don't want my home permanently looking like a 20s movie."

"Well, just another day on the job for the Keyblade's chosen one, huh?" Sora replied.

"We'd better head back to Heatherfield and see if anyone knows what's going on," Nick replied. With that, the Oathkeeper began glowing, and Nick struck, creating a portal that led back to the evil-covered city of Heatherfield.

Once everyone, including Sora, Donald, and Goofy, had returned to Heatherfield, they noticed that the only people or things that weren't black and white were themselves.

"Déjà vu much?" Sora said, as this black and white world reminded him of Timeless River.

Nick began scanning the blackened surroundings, looking for any sign of life. He suddenly saw a very familiar house – Irma's house! Surprised it was still standing, everyone raced towards the house and busted through the doors.

"Mom! Dad!" Irma exclaimed, searching the house for any sign of her parents.

All of a sudden, some kind of blunt object lashed out at Irma, who just barely dodged it. When she turned to catch her assailant red-handed, she let out a gasp of shock.

"Mom?" Irma said, her voice quivering. "Dad?"

Now Sora was curious, looking at Irma's parents, who looked quite unkempt and covered in damaged rags. The two parents looked surprised upon seeing their daughter. "Irma? Sweetie? Oh, it _is_ you!" Anna Lair exclaimed, rushing up and hugging Irma.

"Mom! What happened to Heatherfield? What happened to all the color?" Irma asked, her mind just about at sensory overload.

"You... you mean you don't remember?" Thomas Lair, Irma's father, replied. "Four months ago... you disappeared, and then, all we saw... was the darkness..."

Nick suddenly stepped up. "Something's way wrong here, everybody. Our world's changed. Four months ago was when Will first moved to Heatherfield, and we became... you-know-who. It's like the Guardians never existed!"

"Did Nerissa wipe out everyone's memories of us or what?" Irma asked, swinging Mysterious Abyss.

"Nerissa... she moved in and killed the leader of the Guardians, and one by one, the others fell. They were our last hope," Anna explained.

"Looks like Evil Incorporated has been busy while we were away," Irma noted.

"Let's fan out and search the town," Nick replied. "See if anyone who's still here can tell us the full story."

As everyone checked around town, the stories were the same: the darkness had claimed this world four months ago, and the Guardians had seemingly died, even though they were still searching around.

After a while, everyone met up at Sheffield Institute.

"It's the same all around town," Sora said, twirling his Kingdom Key in his hands. "Everyone's saying the Guardians died four months ago, and Nerissa and the Knights have taken over."

"Everyone's memories of us have been erased, like we never existed!" Will replied, on the verge of a breakdown.

"I'd like to get my hands on that Nerissa," Donald exclaimed.

"Get in line, Donald. Sora, you said the Dark Keyblade consumed the light of your friend Riku, right?" Nick asked Sora, who promptly nodded.

"When he was possessed by Ansem, Riku had said that the Dark Keyblade has the power to unlock hearts. Maybe Nerissa found a way to unlock the heart of Heatherfield with the Dark Keyblade," Nick explained.

Suddenly, everyone present heard a loud scream coming from nearby – a scream that Will easily recognized. "That's my mother!"

Everyone who had Keyblades materialized them. "Come on, everybody!" Nick exclaimed, and the group charged down 4th Street.

Eventually, they reached the source of the disturbance – it was one of the Knights of Vengeance, holding Nerissa's Dark Keyblade over Susan Vandom's chest. Floating above her seemingly lifeless body was a glowing heart.

"No! Mom!" Will screamed.

"What the heck?" Cornelia exclaimed.

"Sora! Is there any way to return her heart?" Nick asked.

"I'm not sure, but the heart will only stay out for a short time. If it vanishes, Will's mother is done for."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Will screamed, Hero's Crest glowing brightly.

Everyone turned to Will, who looked extremely pissed off. All of a sudden, Will charged for the Knight, who turned out to be the Medusa-haired guy.

"GET AWAY FROM MY MOTHER, YOU ARMOR-COVERED FREAK!" Will shouted before striking the Knight with Hero's Crest, causing him to plunge to the ground. Nick quickly ran up to Mrs. Vandom, whose heart was beginning to fade away.

"We've got to do something!" Nick exclaimed.

"The Dark Keyblade is the only thing that can return her heart, but if you even touch it, you'll be consumed by the darkness, too!" Sora explained.

"I don't care, Sora! I'm not about to let one of my best friends lose the only family she has!" Nick shot back, running forward and grabbing the Dark Keyblade and holding it toward the heart.

"Wait! Why isn't the Dark Keyblade affecting Nick?" Sora asked.

Everyone seemed to be at a loss – except for Irma.

"I got it! Sora, you said the Dark Keyblade feeds on dark thoughts, right?" Irma asked the Keyblade's chosen one.

"Well, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I know Nick like the back of my hand, and he doesn't have a dark thought in his head. That basically means there's nothing for the Dark Keyblade to feed on, and thus, it's not affecting him at all."

Everyone looked at Irma in surprise.

"And you say I don't pay attention in class, Corny," Irma said to Cornelia.

Back over to where Nick was, the Dark Keyblade was glowing an eerie shade of purple, apparently trying to find even one dark thought in Nick's head to feed on, but no such luck. "Power of the Dark Keyblade, you unlocked this woman's heart, now return it to her!"

As if it seemed to be obeying Nick's command, the heart regained its radiant glow and slowly sank back into Mrs. Vandom's chest. She slowly opened her eyes, her body regaining its color. Once Susan had regained her color, Nick tossed the Dark Keyblade aside, which clattered to the ground.

"Uuhh... what happened?" Susan asked as Will continued her assault on the Knight. Hearing her mother's voice, however, caused her to stop.

"Mom?" Will asked. She ran up and hugged her mother tightly.

"Oh, sweetie! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"What happened, Mom? What's happened to our world?"

"Nerissa... when we moved to Heatherfield, she took you away from me and cast the world into eternal darkness. Her Knights of Vengeance have been patrolling the streets ever since. The Knights have been using Nerissa's Dark Keyblade to steal the hearts of anyone who opposes them..."

"Why did they try to steal yours, Mom?" Will asked, now very confused.

"I wanted to get something from the old Simultech building, but the Knights caught me..."

Suddenly, the Knight that Will had just attacked emerged from a pile of rubble, only now he looked stronger.

"Fools. You have no chance. Striking out of hate or anger only makes me stronger," the Knight said in a deep voice. "So says Shagon the Hate!"

With that, Shagon flapped his massive wings and flew high into the air, showering the immediate area with massive green eye-beams. The Guardians were barely able to dodge them, while Nick had time to deflect some of the blasts.

Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, a beam of light slammed into Shagon, forcing him out of his ascended form. He looked up and saw Nick and Sora holding their respective Keyblades towards him.

"You know, we're getting really tired of you freaks patrolling our home thinking that you can do whatever the hell you want. Well, not on my watch!" Nick shouted, charging for Shagon, who stood up, brandishing a pair of REALLY long swords.

"You don't get it, do you?" Shagon said. "Striking me like that will only make me stronger!" Shagon held up the swords. Nick just grinned the whole while.

Nick leaped into the air, his Oathkeeper illuminating the blackened sky. With a mighty battle cry, he struck with the Keyblade.

Everything seemed silent for a short time, until Shagon dropped his now-cleaved swords and staggered forward, clutching his clearly wounded chest.

"I-I... I don't understand it..." Shagon said weakly. "I cannot be defeated by hate!" A bright light began to envelop Shagon.

"I wasn't attacking out of anger," Nick said. "I was striking with the light."

The light bursting from Shagon became brighter, until it completely covered him. Shagon screamed one last time before the cocoon of light disappeared, taking Shagon with it.

Everyone present looked on in amazement. Cornelia was the first to speak.

"That... that was... that was AWESOME!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"He kicked that Knight's butt with just one strike!" Taranee added.

"I promised Cassidy," Nick replied. With that, Nick held Oathkeeper to the sky. After being surrounded by a whirlwind of radiant energy, Nick looked skywards and noticed a gigantic keyhole in the sky.

"I don't believe it..." Susan said, breathless. "The keyhole... the heart of this world..."

"Then I think I know what needs to be done," Sora said, the Kingdom Key materializing in his hands. The Guardians walked up to Nick and Sora, their respective Keyblades glowing brightly.

"Shall we?" Nick said, once again raising Oathkeeper to the sky, the others following suit with their respective Keyblades. They all began glowing with an intense light, until beams of light shot from each Keyblade and right into the keyhole. As the mystical blades did their job, the color slowly began returning to Heatherfield, the blackened skies slowly shifting to a bright shade of blue. Almost instantly, all the buildings that had been destroyed reformed themselves.

"The color's returning! We did it!" Hay Lin exclaimed.

Will went over and helped her mom get to her feet. "Come on, mom, let's get you home."

A few hours later, when everything had been returned to normal, the Guardians, Sora, Donald, and Goofy met back at the empty ground of the Sheffield Institute. It was Saturday, after all.

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Just a few days to relax and not worry about W.I.T.C.H. duty.

_Just a few days._

Was that too much to ask?

But noooooooo...

Some teenage freak named Nerissa HAD to unleash the Dark Keyblade and wreak havoc upon their world.

It may seem like it's all in a day's work to someone known as the Keyblade's chosen one, but for Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and their new friends, the Guardians, certain events had turned all of their worlds upside down.

Just a little while ago, Nick, Sora, and everyone else had been celebrating their first victory over the Knights of Vengeance.

"Well, everybody, we may have won this battle, but I've got a feeling that's not going to be the last we'll see of Nerissa and her little lackeys," Nick said.

"But I know that if we all work together, we can do this!" Will added in.

"Together, we're unstoppable!" Irma pitched in.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," a mysterious voice said, causing everyone to look around for its source. Nick and Sora were the first ones to see it – a man completely covered in black robes and surrounded by six odd-looking lances was standing on top of the archway entrance.

"Not those freaks from Organization XIII!" Donald exclaimed.

"You know this creep, Sora?" Cornelia asked.

"They're a group of powerful Nobodies who've been annoying us this whole quest," Sora replied, the Kingdom Key appearing in his hands. "We've defeated most of them. I think there's only 6 left."

"You'd better believe it," the black-hooded guy said, pulling his hood down.

"Xaldin!" Sora shouted, recognizing the guy who tried to turn Beast against them.

"Exactly, small fry," Xaldin replied. "They call me the Whirlwind Lancer. I'm here to take you in, Roxas."

"Why do you people keep calling me that?" Sora exclaimed. "My name is Sora!"

"Different name, same fate," Xaldin replied before disappearing via a column of darkness.

Everyone just looked on.

"Nerissa, the Dark Keyblade, her Knights, this Organization XIII..." Irma counted on her fingers. "Is there anyone who _isn't_ out to get us?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What does Xaldin want with Heatherfield?" Sora asked.

"I don't know, but if we're going to find that out, we'd better find Xaldin and now!" Nick replied, twirling the Oathkeeper in his hands.

"Where do you think he's headed?" Will asked.

Suddenly, Nick caught sight of what appeared to be a lance – no, SIX lances. Target acquired!

"Up there!" Nick exclaimed. "He's headed for the radio tower!"

"What would he want with that?" Taranee asked.

"Girls! Remember the Mudslugs incident? The one where Corny broke up with us?" Nick exclaimed. "Will used the Heart like a microphone to transmit a help signal to Cornelia! What if Xaldin's trying to use some kind of dark power? With that transmitter, he could spread darkness all over the city!"

"Oh, no!" Irma shouted. "Not after what we just went through!"

"Then we'd better stop him!" Nick replied, charging for the radio tower's main building.

"Hey! Wait for us!" everyone else shouted, racing to catch up with Nick.

Xaldin had just reached the top of the radio tower, his six lances glowing with immeasurable dark energy.

"Excellent," Xaldin said to himself. "Now I'm glad Master Xemnas chose ME to wield the element of wind. Now I can get anywhere I want without even trying."

Suddenly, a large gust of air shot forward and knocked Xaldin away from the transmitter. He looked around for his attacker, eventually revealing it to be a girl of about 12 with long black pigtails and in some skimpy costume with translucent wings.

"Hey, if you want to be on radio, just ask the Board of Directors!" Hay Lin shouted, as all of the Guardians flew up to meet the waiting eyes of Xaldin. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were seemingly floating there behind the Guardians, having cast an Aero spell on them.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little pixie girls," Xaldin said sarcastically, brandishing his namesake lances.

"That's FAIRY girls to you, you little lance freak!" Will shouted.

"Fairies, pixies, same fate," Xaldin said before spinning his lances around him. A gust of wind began picking up around the edges of the building.

"He's creating a barrier! Move!" Nick shouted, flying through the gust to reach Xaldin.

"Sora!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Right," Sora replied, holding his hands into the air and concentrating.

"What's he up to?" Cornelia asked.

"Oh, you're going to love this, Cornelia," Donald replied to the blonde. "This is called a Drive. Sora can fuse with either me or Goofy, or sometimes both of us, to enhance his skills. It's really cool!"

"Light, GIVE ME STRENGTH!" Sora shouted, a bright light emanating from his hands. The instant those words left Sora's mouth, Goofy disappeared from sight and Sora was enveloped in a cocoon of light. When it cleared, Sora had changed. The silver on his clothes had turned a bright red, and red electricity was emanating from his hands, which were BOTH clutching Keyblades. The one in Sora's left hand looked like a very dark version of Oathkeeper, with what appeared to be a king's crown on the tip.

"Wow!" Irma exclaimed upon catching first wind of this incredible new fusion. "That's cool!"

"Hurry! The barrier's about to close!" Will shouted, but only Nick, Irma, and Valor Form Sora had gotten there in time, leaving everyone else to watch.

"The three of you? That's all they send?" Xaldin taunted, aiming his lances for the trio. "This will be easier than I thought."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Xaldin! The three of us together are more than enough to take you on!" Nick exclaimed, brandishing Oathkeeper.

"There's no fun in that," Xaldin replied, his lances spinning around him. Suddenly, all six of them lunged for Irma, who was barely able to block them with Mysterious Abyss. Sora lunged for Xaldin with Kingdom Key and Oblivion, and was able to get in a few good hits before Xaldin disappeared in a swirl of wind, reappearing a few yards away.

"Wind, guard me!" Xaldin exclaimed, creating a shield of wind that caused Valor Form Sora's attacks to simply bounce off.

"Drat! This isn't working! I can't seem to get any attacks through!" Sora shouted, swinging Oblivion in frustration.

"Let me give it a try, Sora," Nick shouted, raising the Oathkeeper into the air. "That barrier may be guarding against direct physical attacks, but it's no elemental guard! THUNDER!"

True to Nick's word, the bolt of thunder that he summoned easily pierced through Xaldin's shield of air and struck the Whirlwind Lancer, knocking him off balance.

"Oh, a comedian, huh? Well, let's see how you like this! _Spiking Strike!_" Xaldin shouted, his lances spinning around him like a merry-go-round. He began twirling until he was blurred, his lances going crazy in the process. Suddenly, a green flash appeared on Xaldin's spinning form. Nick was probably the only one who noticed it, holding out his hand. His palm flashed the same shade of green. Feeling confident, Nick leaped _very_ high into the air, using his new temporary power to aim an attack straight for Xaldin. Before the Whirlwind Lancer knew what hit him, Nick had dropped at high speeds from the sky above him and driven Oathkeeper into Xaldin's chest, stopping the Whirlwind Lancer's attack and knocking him far back.

"That was awesome!" Taranee shouted from behind the barrier.

"I wish there was some way we could help them," Will said kind of sadly, looking at the inert Heart of Candracar.

"We just have to believe in them," Hay Lin said, putting her hand on Will's shoulder.

"For once, I agree with Air Girl. If we believe, I know we can win," Cornelia replied, looking back through the barrier. So far, it seemed that they were winning.

Both Nick and Sora were pummeling Xaldin up close with vicious spinning attacks, while Irma opted to attack from afar with her Water magic, thoroughly dousing Xaldin.

After a while of getting beaten up, in which Xaldin's robes had been thoroughly torn up...

"Enough!" Xaldin exclaimed, his lances turning into some sort of dragon. The Whirlwind Lancer hopped on the makeshift dragon and disappeared from sight through the barrier.

"What just happened?" Irma asked, cautiously holding Mysterious Abyss.

"Nick! Sora! Irma! Beware the winds of despair!" Xaldin's voice echoed as the lance dragon's head popped up from below the side of the building, gathering some weird form of energy.

"What is he doing?" Irma asked. As if on cue, the lance dragon shot a gigantic whirlwind from its mouth, aiming straight for the trio.

"Oh, hell! SCATTER!" Nick shouted, but there was nowhere to run – but up. Sora had already performed Valor Form's specialty – the High Jump. Nick struck the ground with Oathkeeper and propelled himself high into the air. Irma was about to do the same, but suddenly, all she saw was that gust of wind before her vision went blank.

When Nick and Sora landed, the gust had settled. Nick looked around for Irma, and let out a gasp of shock: Irma was sprawled across the ground, looking very beat up. Her heart, glowing a radiant blue, was hovering just a few inches above her.

"That was barely even a challenge. Now, your girlfriend's heart is mine!" Xaldin shouted, charging for Irma's heart.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Nick shouted. Xaldin paid no heed to Nick's command, but just as he was about to take Irma's heart, he was met smack in the face with Nick's Oathkeeper. All of a sudden, a second Keyblade materialized in Nick's left hand, one that looked almost exactly like Hay Lin's Sword of the Storm, only it was a light green instead of silver.

"Two keyblades? That isn't possible! It's just crazy!" Xaldin shouted, rubbing the spot on his face where he'd been attacked.

"Hey, people do crazy things when they're in love," Nick replied before he struck again, this time with BOTH of his Keyblades. The Guardians could only look on in amazement as Nick effortlessly smacked Xaldin around with the dual keyblades, using incredible combo techniques that put even some of Sora's best to shame. After a while of this, Nick leapt back a bit, both of his Keyblades glowing brightly. He charged back towards the now helpless Whirlwind Lancer and struck hard, attacking in a vertical motion with Oathkeeper and a horizontal motion with his new Keyblade. The aptly named "Cross Attack" sent Xaldin stumbling back, clutching his wounded chest. Nick leapt to the very top of the radio tower, holding out Oathkeeper towards Xaldin. It began glowing like it had a few hours ago, when the Guardians had sealed Heatherfield's keyhole, thus returning the color and justice to the town.

"I'm not letting you take Irma's heart, you non-existent freak!" Nick shouted, and with that, the Oathkeeper shot a bright beam of light from its tip that pierced straight through Xaldin. After a while, Xaldin's body began to break up, being slowly consumed by the darkness that he wielded. He let out one last scream before disappearing completely. Nick hopped off of the tower and landed right next to Irma, the barrier of wind created by Xaldin lifting, allowing the other Guardians, who were cheering over Xaldin's spectacular defeat, to enter the battle site.

Nick took Irma's glowing heart and aimed it back towards her. The heart effortlessly sank back into her body. After a few seconds, the brunette slowly opened her eyes and sat up. "What'd I miss?"

Nick said nothing, opting to throw his arms around Irma, who sweetly returned the embrace. Sora began blushing.

"Reminds you of Kairi, huh?" Hay Lin asked.

"That obvious, huh?" Sora replied, chuckling a bit.

Irma leaned forward and kissed Nick on the cheek, eliciting a blush from the electricity Guardian.

"That's for you, Nick. It's a little present for being so good to me," Irma stated sweetly.

"Thanks," Nick replied before shaking his fist at the sky.

"Anyone from the Organization who'd like to be next?" Nick proclaimed.

"Nick..." Irma replied with a mock chiding tone. "You don't want to provoke them, do you?" She giggled a bit.

"I guess not," Nick replied, looking upwards.

_I'm serious, though. These Organization XIII freaks don't know who they're messing with..._

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It seemed like an ordinary day, at least after Xaldin's defeat. Heatherfield was quiet for the moment, and Nick, the Guardians, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all situated at Irma's house, though Nick and Irma were absent from the little grouping, those two having opted to position themselves in Irma's room to talk about something.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Will asked.

"I'll bet it's about their feelings," Sora replied, the Kingdom Key sitting perfectly still on the couch he was sitting on.

"You sure, Sora?" Cornelia asked.

"You saw them yesterday," Sora replied again. "It's so obvious that they love each other."

"Yeah. Like you and Kairi?" Hay Lin asked with a giggle.

"Yeah, like me and – HEY!" Sora shot back. Everyone present began to laugh.

Up in Irma's room, Nick and Irma were sitting close to each other on the bed.

"Nick, I know there's something you've been trying to tell me these past few weeks," Irma said. "You can tell me."

"I wish I could, Irma," Nick replied. "But every time I try, something bad has to happen! Especially now that we know Organization XIII is on the loose..."

"It's okay, Nick. You can do what you want," Irma replied. Nick took note that Irma wasn't acting at all like her usual self. She seemed a little more... what was the word he was looking for?

Romantic.

Suddenly, Nick found himself moving a little closer to Irma, who appeared to be doing the same.

As they drew closer and closer, Nick could feel his heart beating in his chest. Just as their lips were about to touch, a telepathic voice screamed across the room.

_Nick! Can you hear me?_

It was Elyon, Cornelia's best friend and current Queen of Meridian, sending out a distress signal to her friends.

"Damn it! See, this is what I--" All of a sudden, Irma placed her hands on Nick's shoulders, pulled him close to her, and kissed him. Keeping that position for a while, she eventually released their liplock.

"That better?" Irma asked, smiling brightly.

"Lots," Nick said before focusing on Elyon's call.

_What's wrong, Elyon?_

_Some freak in a hood's taken me hostage! I need you and the Guardians to come to the Royal Palace immediately! _Elyon's distraught voice responded.

"Freak in a hood?" Irma asked.

"It's gotta be Organization XIII!" Nick replied, the Oathkeeper and his new Keyblade (which he had aptly named Fatal Crest) materializing in his hands. After Irma materialized Mysterious Abyss, the lovers rushed downstairs.

"What's wrong?" Will asked upon seeing Nick and Irma rush in, holding their keyblades.

"Organization XIII is at it again."

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Everyone had suited up and assembled outside Irma's doorway once Nick had relayed the news of Elyon's distress. Nick quickly created a portal to Meridian's royal palace, which all present quickly entered.

Upon arriving, the team noticed that everything around the castle perimeter – the sky, the flags that would usually be waving in the breeze, even the guards that patrolled the castle walls – was completely still.

"What the heck happened here?" Taranee asked. "Why is everything frozen?"

"Organization XIII," Nick simply replied.

"It's gotta be," Sora said as the team busted into the castle hallways, where gigantic playing cards were attacking almost anything that was moving, which at this point wasn't much.

"Which member of this Organization attacks with _playing cards_? Some poker freak who got his butt whipped at the last tournament and who's looking for revenge?" Irma asked, drawing on her unique ability to make a joke out of any situation.

"That would be me," a deep voice said. Nick was the first to pick up the source: another hooded man, this time one with very short blonde hair. He almost looked bald.

"You! Where is the Queen?" Nick exclaimed, brandishing Oathkeeper and Fatal Crest.

"Her Majesty is my prisoner, and I will only release her if you can survive my games," the mysterious man said.

"I don't have time for your damn riddles!" Nick exclaimed, getting ready to charge for the Organization member, but was quickly surrounded by a series of the man's gigantic cards. When he could see straight again, the entire palace – and his friends – were gone, and he was standing in a realm of complete nothingness with the mysterious man being the only other person around.

"Now just who are you?" Nick asked, swinging Oathkeeper.

"I am Luxord, the Organization's number X. They call me the Gambler of Fate," the mystery man replied.

"Okay then, _Luxord_, I'd rather we just skip the formalities," Nick replied. "What's your little game?"

"A battle of time. 20 minutes worth of the Sands of Time reside in these hourglasses," Luxord replied, and hourglass necklaces appeared around both Nick and Luxord's necks.

"The first to run out of time is the loser," Luxord continued.

"All right then, you're on!" Nick replied.

"Time start," Luxord commanded.

"Bring it," Nick challenged.

_Nick: 20:00  
__Luxord: 20:00_

With that, Nick charged for Luxord, who put up a shield with his cards. Nick easily cut through the flimsy, yet sharp cards and began attacking Luxord. After a few hits, however, Nick felt a sharp pain in his chest that sent him crashing into a wall, which – surprise, surprise – was made up of Luxord's cards.

_Nick: 19:30  
__Luxord: 19:10_

"Man, if you were a poker champion, you must be REALLY sore about that last defeat," Nick joked, checking his hourglass – only a few sands had run out of his, whereas Luxord's seemed to be emptying a little faster than his own.

"A joker, are you?" Luxord replied, holding up two more cards and flinging them towards Nick. He cut both down with Oathkeeper, and suddenly noticed that for each card he cut down, Luxord's hourglass seemed to empty a little faster, which Luxord didn't seem to notice. This gave Nick a devilishly clever idea. He got to his feet and began taunting Luxord.

_Nick: 19:15  
__Luxord: 18:50_

"Come on, you poker washout! You call THAT card-playing?" Nick shouted, making Luxord fling some more cards, which soon joined the shredded remains of the others Nick had destroyed.

_Nick: 19:07  
__Luxord: 18:20_

"My grandmother has better aim than you!" Nick continued taunting the Gambler of Fate, who promptly became enraged and threw at least 15 cards for Nick, which, like the others, were quickly and mercilessly cut down. Luxord had just lost about a quarter of his remaining time.

_Nick: 18:52  
__Luxord: 14:33_

"Come on, mama's boy! I've seen better cards at the laundry register!" Nick shouted, but unfortunately, it seemed Luxord had finally caught on to Nick's little plan. The Gambler of Fate smiled fiendishly, and threw a bigger card straight for Nick.

"He makes this so easy," Nick said, preparing to cut down yet another card. But, suddenly, it disappeared. "What the —" Nick's sentence was cut short as the giant card he was about to attack slammed him in the back, promptly knocking him into the air. The attacking card came back for more, easily juggling Nick in the air as if he were a conductor's baton. When the assault ended, Nick fell to the ground and checked his hourglass.

_Nick: 16:22  
__Luxord: 14:21_

"Lucky shot," Nick said, getting to his feet. "It's not happening again."

Suddenly, Luxord surrounded himself with more cards. "A challenge, is it?" he said. "I dare you to pick one of the cards surrounding me."

"All right then," Nick said, slowly walking up to the revolving cards and thinking. After a short time, he tapped one of the cards with Oathkeeper, and it spun around to reveal Luxord. The cards disappeared and left Luxord stunned, giving Nick an opportunity to draw Fatal Crest and smack Luxord around with the dual Keyblades, ending in his "Cross Attack" finishing move. Nick stole a glance at Luxord's hourglass.

_Nick: 15:54  
__Luxord: 09:37 _

"Looks like I'm going to win," Nick said.

"Don't squander your time!" Luxord exclaimed, once again surrounding himself with cards, this time throwing the cards at Nick before he could react. Nick jumped and dodged to the side to avoid the cards that were flying at him at incredible speeds. Nick was able to cut a few of them down, but he opted to simply dodge the faster ones.

"Look who's talking, Luxord!" Nick shouted, jumping onto the wall and running along it. "I'm 6 minutes ahead of you! There's no way you're going to win now!"

"Still quite the joker, I see," Luxord replied, flinging more cards from his seemingly unlimited supply towards Nick, but each card simply pierced a chunk of the wall, since Nick was moving too fast for Luxord to focus on him. After a while of this, Nick propelled himself off of the wall and aimed a powerful attack straight for Luxord, knocking the Gambler of Fate right into a nearby wall.

_Nick: 13:09  
__Luxord: 06:54_

"Okay, then. It's time I got serious," Luxord said, disappearing and littering the floor with dozens of his cards. After a short while, many of those cards began attacking Nick, cutting into his clothes and causing heavy damage and quickly depleting his remaining time.

_Nick: 01:09  
__Luxord: 05:27_

After a while of this, Nick shouted "ENOUGH!" and began spinning rapidly, the Oathkeeper releasing a whirlwind energy slash that destroyed the majority of the cards that littered the floor. More cards materialized out of nowhere, but Nick, who was now showing no mercy, quickly cut them down.

_Nick: 00:33  
__Luxord: 01:33_

Luxord reappeared, smiling brightly. "I have the advantage now," the Gambler of Fate said. Nick said nothing, charging straight for Luxord. He kept flinging enormous cards at Nick, but they quickly met their end as Nick slowly but surely drew closer to Luxord.

_Nick: 00:15  
__Luxord: 00:30_

"No! I cannot lose!" Luxord exclaimed, shielding himself with a giant card.

_Nick: 00:07  
__Luxord: 00:12_

"Guess what? You just did," Nick retorted, Oathkeeper glowing brightly.

_Nick: 00:03  
__Luxord: 00:07_

Nick brought Oathkeeper back, and the second he reached Luxord, he struck, slicing through the card shield and literally cutting Luxord in half, though we don't see it.

_Nick: 00:01  
__Luxord: 00:00_

Luxord groaned. "Ugh... you... you play the game quite well..." was all Luxord said before disappearing in a swirl of darkness.

A few seconds later, Nick walked forward and picked up the only remaining evidence of Luxord's defeat: his cracked and empty hourglass.

"Okay. Now, how do I get out of here? Elyon may still be in trouble," Nick said, when Oathkeeper let out a sparkle, and a giant keyhole appeared far above him. Nick smiled.

"Of course," Nick said, holding Oathkeeper towards the keyhole and shooting a beam of light into it. The keyhole shined brightly, and once the light cleared, he was back in the hallway leading to Queen Elyon's quarters, surrounded by all of his friends.

"Nick! You're all right!" Irma exclaimed, rushing up and hugging Nick, who warmly returned the embrace.

"What just happened?" Sora asked.

"Another member of Organization XIII has been pasted," Nick simply replied, holding up Luxord's hourglass. "Only 5 more to go."

"Indeed," a small female voice replied. Everyone turned to see Queen Elyon coming down the stairs, dressed in her ice-blue robe, the mark of a true queen.

"Your Majesty!" Nick exclaimed. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about little old me," Elyon responded. "I wonder why Luxord wanted me?"

"I have no idea," Sora replied, "but the good thing is that you're safe now, Your Majesty."

"So old Luxord finally fell. I'm glad. That guy is always hogging the spotlight," another mysterious voice replied.

"Let me guess," Nick replied. "You're another freak from Organization XIII?"

"Good guess," the voice replied, revealing himself to be a slightly old man with a scar on his face and a patch over his right eye. As with all Organization members, he was dressed completely in black robes, but this particular member held two uniquely shaped guns.

"The name's Xigbar, the Freeshooter," the man replied.

Nick materialized Oathkeeper and Fatal Crest, while everyone else that had a Keyblade did the same.

"Whoa, whoa, I'm not here to fight you just yet," Xigbar replied. "This is just a warning – your final warning, actually. Tell Roxas over here," motioning to Sora, "that if he doesn't comply with the Organization's demands, we'll be forced to destroy him."

"For the last time, my name is Sora!" Sora shouted.

"Next time we meet, it won't be pretty, dude," Xigbar shot back before disappearing in a column of darkness.

A few seconds of silence ensued after Xigbar vanished.

"Okay, is it me, or do these freaks from Organization XIII keep getting stranger and stranger?" Nick asked.

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"No freaking way!" Nick replied. "Was Demyx really that much of a coward?"

"Got that right," Sora replied. "He acted all silly when he was fighting us, relying on his stupid clones to do his dirty work!"

"What an idiot, huh?" Irma added.

Back at Irma's house, Sora was sharing stories with the Guardians about his past confrontations with other members of Organization XIII.

"Now that there's only 5 members left, I have a feeling that between getting rid of them and taking care of this Nerissa character, we're going to have a tough time even relaxing," Sora stated.

"Things _have_ been quiet lately ever since Nick pasted that Luxord guy," Irma replied.

"I say we take advantage of this lull in their movement and do something fun while we have the chance!" Taranee mentioned.

"Like what?" Donald asked.

In a different part of town, we can see a girl of about 15, with shoulder-length red hair and a pink outfit wandering down Main Street, only one question running through her head...

_Sora... I know you're here somewhere..._

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Somewhere in a mysterious dark realm that seemed to look a lot like the Destiny Islands, Nerissa was conversing with yet another member of Organization XIII.

"That was pure genius!" Nerissa exclaimed. "Sending down the Twilight Thorn and disguising it as that Keyblader's little girlfriend was pure genius!"

"I made sure that our little spy knows exactly how to act around Sora. He is a nuisance that must be contained," the hooded man said. "That way, while the kids are distracted, you can take your army of Heart Stealers and conquer the Meridian Plains."

"Yes! With your monsters and my Dark Keyblade, we shall rule this puny world!" Nerissa exclaimed, laughing maniacally.

"Indeed," the hooded man replied.

"Say, if we're to rule this world together, I should at least know your name," Nerissa asked the man.

"With pleasure," the hooded man replied.

"My name is Xemnas, leader of Organization XIII."

"Xemnas, huh? You remind me of this man named Ansem. I've read his reports, and they intrigue me. Wasn't he the former ruler of the Radiant Garden?" Nerissa wondered.

"Yes. I cannot count the days since I abandoned his name. He believes that his apprentice Xehanort was the one who stole his life," Xemnas explained.

"Interesting..."

"Conversely, _you_ remind _me_ of a girl I once knew before I was separated from Xehanort. Are you familiar with a girl named Cassidy?" Xemnas asked.

"You knew Cassidy?" Nerissa replied, quite visibly surprised.

"Yes. Ansem valued her friendship after his apprentices betrayed him. It was her idea that he try and stop my plans to capture Kingdom Hearts."

"I never would have expected it of that water girl," Nerissa noted.

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As Sora chatted away with his new friends, he began to feel like these were people he could trust, people he could count on.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Nick said, standing up and walking to the door. When he opened it, he spotted a 15-year-old girl with a pink outfit and shoulder-length red hair...

_...no way!_

"Sora? I think you need to see this," Nick shouted to Sora, who promptly raced to the door, stopping in his tracks when he saw the girl standing in the doorway.

"Kairi?"

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"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed, rushing up and throwing his arms around his long-lost friend.

"Sora!" the girl promptly responded, returning Sora's embrace.

"Where have you been?" Sora asked.

"Trying to find you. What do you think I've been doing, you nut?" Kairi responded with a giggle.

Back in the living room, a mysterious pink glow began emanating from the Heart of Candracar. Will looked into the crystal pendant and noticed a picture of Kairi, Sora's almost-girlfriend. "Why is the Heart alerting me about this girl's presence? I KNOW she's not evil..."

Later on, Nick and Sora were showing 'Kairi' around Heatherfield, unknowing that the disguised girl was planning to lead the two into a trap.

"There's the Heatherfield Radio Tower," Nick said, pointing to the building where he had fought Xaldin. "Tallest building in the city."

"Wow," Kairi responded. "It's even taller than some of the buildings back home!"

Back at Irma's house, everyone still present gasped in shock at Will's recent discovery.

"We'd better find those two before it's too late!" Will shouted, and with that, she held up the Heart of Candracar. _"Guardians, unite!"_

After a while, Nick and Sora's travels had led them and Kairi to the beach, which was thankfully empty. _Okay, now I'll expose that faker, _Nick thought.

"It's beautiful here," Kairi said, looking around the vast beach, unknowing that Nick had silently materialized Oathkeeper behind his back.

"Believe it or not, we actually fought this gigantic monster on this very beach one time," Sora said to Kairi.

"Really?" Kairi responded. "It must have been one heck of a battle."

"Like you wouldn't believe," Nick replied. _Any minute now, faker, you're going to slip up, and then, you're toast._

As they continued walking down the beach, the girls, along with Donald and Goofy, were flying towards said beach. "Nick... be careful..." Irma said to herself.

"There was sand flying everywhere," Sora said, recounting the battle against Darkside, the very Heartless that started his whole quest.

"Reminds me of something..." Kairi said, thinking. "Reminds me of that Roxas kid who almost... oops..."

"Got you..." Nick said, bringing out Oathkeeper and holding it toward 'Kairi'. "...faker!" A beam of light shot from the tip and struck Kairi, lifting her into the air.

"I was waiting for you to slip up, you little freak," Nick stated.

"How'd you know?" 'Kairi' asked as she was enveloped in a cocoon of light.

"I'm not stupid," Nick responded. "I knew who you really were the whole time. You should know better than to underestimate the Keyblade's chosen one."

With that, what used to be Kairi vanished completely, and in its place stood the gigantic Nobody known as the Twilight Thorn. The beach completely dissolved and transformed itself into a high-rise building at the Station of Awakening.

Saying nothing (as if it could), the Twilight Thorn raised its giant hand and trapped Nick in energy shackles, lifting him high into the air.

"Let me go, you non-existent freak!" Nick exclaimed, struggling to break free of his bindings, but to no avail.

After a few seconds, it looked straight at Nick, drawing back its gigantic arm to punch the boy.

Nick, however, was able to react, jumping over the punch as best he could and striking the Twilight Thorn straight in the head, knocking it far back.

However, it soon came back for more, grabbing the boy and tossing him into the air. Nick quickly reacted by once again aiming a powerful attack for the head, which seemed to be its only vulnerable point.

After that attack, the Twilight Thorn sunk under the platform, tipping it completely upside down. Nick tried holding on by slamming his Keyblades into the floor, but to no avail. As he fell, he saw the Twilight Thorn gathering a huge energy ball. Seeing his chance, Nick thrust the Oathkeeper towards the giant sphere, dispersing the energy and stunning the Twilight Thorn. As they landed on another glass floor, Nick ran up to the head and began attacking for all he was worth, ending in a spectacular finishing move that literally drove the dual Keyblades into the head of the Twilight Thorn. Once it disappeared, Nick had returned to the beach, where Sora was staring in wonder.

Suddenly, the Guardians flew up, looking extremely flustered. "Nick! Sora! We've got BIG trouble!" Irma exclaimed.

"I already took care of that stupid Nobody," Nick replied.

"That's not why we're in big trouble," Will responded. "I just found out from Elyon that Nerissa sent the Twilight Thorn to distract us! Nerissa's launching a massive attack on the palace!"

"WHAT?" Nick exclaimed. "We'd better move, then!"

Saying nothing, Nick did a 360 and struck with the Oathkeeper, opening a portal to Meridian. "Let's go, everybody!"

With that, everyone entered the portal.

Once in Meridian, everyone present could only stare on in wonder. Will wasn't kidding; there were enemies everywhere!

Nick noticed a huge swarm of Heartless storming the Infinite City, a large sea of Nobodies attacking Torus Filney, and a massive army of mysterious creatures swarming the Meridian Plains. He could just barely see the Knights of Vengeance charging for the Underwater Mines.

"This is awful!" Cornelia exclaimed.

"We'd better split up if we're going to have any chance of keeping these freaks in check!" Nick responded. "Will, Irma, Hay Lin, you keep tabs on the Infinite City! Taranee, Cornelia, you two go with Sora and make sure those Nobodies don't destroy Torus Filney! Donald, Goofy, go help the prisoners in the Underwater Mines!"

"What about you, Nick?" Irma asked.

"I'm off to the Meridian Plains," Nick replied. "Nerissa and I have a little score to settle."

With that, everyone set off to contain the threat that was planning to tear Meridian apart.

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"THUNDER!" Donald shouted, casting a spell that struck yet another prison guard at the Underwater Mines. The guard promptly fell to the ground, out like a light. Meanwhile, Goofy threw his shield, which promptly began spinning rapidly, cutting through the chains that held the miners.

"Get out of here, before those Knights come back!" Goofy shouted. The miners had no second thoughts, pouring out of the mines as quickly as they could.

"That takes care of that!" Donald shouted.

"Um, Donald? I wouldn't be too sure of that," Goofy responded upon seeing several Nobodies appear in front of them.

"Bring it on, you big palookas!" Donald shouted, charging for the Nobodies.

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A lightning bolt easily tore straight through a troop of Rapid Thruster Heartless, while a large tidal wave drowned out a horde of Armored Knights, surprisingly keeping the city buildings intact. As a squad of Soldier Heartless jumped for Will and Irma, a blast of freezing air struck the Soldiers, freezing them solid. Hay Lin flew down and quickly drop-kicked a Large Body, sending it crashing to the ground.

"That takes care of that," Irma said.

As if on cue, even more Heartless appeared on the battle scene, most of them being Large Bodies.

The three girls sighed.

This... was not going to work.

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As Taranee and Cornelia plowed through the squadron of Samurai Nobodies, Sora began attacking the Snipers, occasionally warping around to deflect a laser bullet fired by said Nobody.

However, it seemed that for each Nobody they cut down, four more seemed to join the battle. Cornelia eventually fell to the ground, exhausted from the onslaught. She could only watch as a Samurai crept up to her, drawing its dual swords. But, before it could strike, a mysterious blade cut through the Samurai, making it disappear in a sparkle of blue light. Cornelia gasped when she saw her savior: a man of about 18 with sandy brown hair that stuck out in all kinds of directions. He was wielding what seemed to be a Keyblade.

"Caleb!"

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Upon reaching the Meridian Plains, Nick noticed Nerissa and yet another black-hooded man standing atop a pillar that seemed to be holding back the mysterious creatures he'd seen.

"Nerissa!" Nick shouted, brandishing Oathkeeper and Fatal Crest. "I'm tired of playing your little games! This ends NOW!"

"Oh, really, boy?" Nerissa responded with a cruel, bitter laugh. "I don't think my Heart Stealers would agree to that."

Nick stole a quick glance at the army of creatures that Nerissa called "Heart Stealers". Many of them looked like the Armored Knight Heartless, while others looked like a bird with a drill-shaped body and sharp wings.

"You stand no chance against such an army," the hooded man said.

"I've dealt with larger things than this," Nick replied. "Right, _Xemnas_?"

The man pulled the hood off of his head to reveal Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII.

"So you know, then," Xemnas replied. "It won't do you any good."

"You should know that my friends are taking care of the rest of your little army," Nick stated, waving Oathkeeper towards Nerissa and Xemnas.

"Even so, if they destroy the rest of the battalion, they cannot stop my Heart Stealers," Nerissa retorted. "I will decimate those foolish Guardians just like I decimated your little girlfriend Cassidy!"

"How DARE you insult Cassidy!" Nick shouted. "I've had enough of this! I'm ending this right here, right now!"

With a mighty battle cry, Nick raised Oathkeeper and charged for the massive army.

Nerissa raised her hand, which began glowing with an eerie light. The rock face that was holding back the Heart Stealers quickly disappeared. "Heart Stealers, CHARGE!" Nerissa shouted, and with that, the massive army began trudging forward.

As Nick inched ever closer to the army, he began thinking.

He wasn't really sure if he could beat all of these creatures by himself. But, he told himself, if he believed he could, he could do it.

At least, that's what he had to believe...

...if he was going to save the world.

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As Nick drew ever closer to the Heart Stealers, the Oathkeeper began glowing brightly.

_I promised Cassidy. I promised my friends! I'm not letting these freaks take over this world!_ Nick thought as he began the attack, swinging the Oathkeeper and cutting down at least 15 Summer Knights. Just as a series of Thruster Drones was about to strike, Nick began spinning in mid-air, the Oathkeeper unleashing a whirlwind of energy that tore down at least 20 more of the Heart Stealers.

"You're not getting the drop on me, you heartless freaks!" Nick shouted, leaping into the air. When he landed, he materialized Fatal Crest and slammed both Keyblades onto the ground of the Meridian Plains, releasing an energy wave that toppled a whole row of the creatures.

Nick looked behind him and noticed a huge troop of Summer Knights heading straight for him. Wasting no time, Nick began striking rapidly, ending in a powerful finishing move that tore through that entire troop.

_Man! No matter how many of these guys I tear down, more just keep coming!_ Nick thought, starting to get just a little bit exhausted as he continued tearing through the creatures.

"The boy is starting to tire," Nerissa said.

"But he is not down just yet," Xemnas replied. "Your army may need a little help."

As Nick continued fighting, he suddenly noticed a large quantity of dark energy bursts falling all around the battlefield.

"Oh, come on! Like I'm not having a hard enough time as it is!" Nick shouted, leaping over a few Summer Knights and attacking whatever he could. The seemingly endless army trudged on.

As Nick kept on chopping down Heart Stealers, he began trying his best to dodge the dark bursts of energy that Nerissa was firing from the Dark Keyblade.

"I may need a little help here," Nick said to himself, fighting off a swarm of Summer Knights.

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"I hope Nick's okay down there," Irma said as she looked towards the Meridian Plains, where Nick was seen fighting his way out of a swarm of Summer Knights.

"Irma! Get back down here!" Will shouted as she zapped another Armored Knight.

Irma looked onwards, remembering something she'd said to Nick a couple days before this mess had started.

"_I can't believe I almost lost you back there, Irma," Nick said as he paced back and forth across Irma's living room._

"_Nick. Can I say something?" the brunette replied._

"_I'm glad you came to your senses and got me out of there. I really am."_

_Irma walked up to Nick and put her hands on his shoulders._

"_Irma..." Nick said, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I don't want to lose you again..."_

"_You won't," Irma responded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out what appeared to be a wave crest that she would usually hang up on the Christmas tree every year._

"_Take this," Irma said. "It's my lucky charm. As long as you keep it with you, I know we won't lose each other."_

_Nick looked at Irma for a few seconds._

"_Don't ever forget, Nick... wherever you go... I'm always with you."_

Her mind made up, Irma began flying towards the Meridian Plains.

"Irma! Where are you going?" Will shouted as Hay Lin flew behind and attacked another Large Body.

"I made a promise to Nick."

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Back at the plains, Nick kept trying his best to contain the massive horde of Heart Stealers, but to no avail. He was slowly weakening, whereas the Heart Stealer army had no intention of shrinking.

_Irma... I'm sorry..._ Nick though before launching headlong into a flashback.

(a few years ago, before Cassidy found the Dark Keyblade)

"_Nick?" Cassidy said to Nick._

"_Yeah?" the boy replied._

"_I'm kinda nervous about this trip," Cassidy replied. "Especially with the rumors of those people mysteriously disappearing on the mountains..."_

_Nick walked up to Cassidy. "Don't worry, Cassidy. They're just rumors. We don't know if they're true or not."_

"_I'm still kinda scared," Cassidy replied._

_Suddenly, Nick knew what he had to do._

"_Cassidy, you don't have to worry. If there are stalkers on the mountain, I'll protect you."_

"_Really?" Cassidy's face became less tense._

"_No matter what," Nick replied._

"_Promise?"_

_Cassidy held out her hand, which Nick promptly clasped._

"_It's a promise, Cassidy."_

(end flashback)

As Nick's vision slowly turned black, Heart Stealers piling on top of him, he began remembering the promises he'd made.

"_I'll protect you. It's a promise, Cassidy!"_

"_Don't ever forget, Nick... wherever you go... I'm always with you."_

Cassidy... Irma... all of his friends were depending on him.

He'd made a very important promise... he wasn't about to break it!

_That's right! I made a promise to Cassidy! To Irma... My heart belongs to Irma, NOT THESE FREAKS!_ Nick thought as the Oathkeeper began glowing with a brilliant gold light. Feeling his energy returning to him, he leaped and performed a powerful spin attack that destroyed dozens of Heart Stealers. Many of the Summer Knights aimed their powerful attacks for Nick, but quickly met a merciless end at the hands of Nick's Oathkeeper. And at last, the army seemed to be drawing to a close.

"No! This isn't possible! How can he be back on his feet after an attack like that?" Nerissa exclaimed furiously.

"The Keyblade he wields represents a promise he made to someone dear. It gives him some otherworldly power when he gets angry," Xemnas explained.

"I see," Nerissa replied. "That power could be useful to us in the long run."

At least 200 more of the Heart Stealers came for Nick, but they had all met their end in the space of 15 seconds. Nick continued tearing through the swarm, whose numbers were rapidly depleting. The more he attacked, the lighter his feet and the Oathkeeper seemed to him.

In no time at all, Nick had completely decimated the Heart Stealer army. But he had no intention to stop fighting just yet. He quickly set his gaze on Nerissa and Xemnas. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Nerissa exclaimed.

"You called?" Nick replied from seemingly out of nowhere. As quickly as he had vanished, he reappeared in front of Nerissa, Oathkeeper and Fatal Crest in his hands.

Nerissa tried blocking with the Dark Keyblade, but it was to no avail, as Nick began attacking before Nerissa could make a dive for the Dark Keyblade.

It was just then that Irma flew onto the scene and noticed Nick smacking Nerissa around with his dual Keyblades. The army of Heart Stealers was completely gone.

_He remembered..._ Irma thought, smiling brightly.

After a while of smacking Nerissa around, Nick hopped back a bit, both Keyblades glowing brightly. He performed what seemed to be a variation on Sora's Aerial Finish technique, his Keyblades slashing around him and slamming into Nerissa in a fierce series of spinning attacks. What surprised Irma was that the Keyblades weren't in Nick's hands as he performed the attack. It seemed like the mystical blades were acting of their own accord.

Nick finished the spectacular assault with his Cross Attack, the sheer force of the attack knocking Nerissa off of the pillar. Nick quickly turned on Xemnas.

"You're next, Xemnas!" he shouted, charging for the black-hooded Nobody.

"Another time, perhaps," Xemnas replied before disappearing via a column of darkness.

Nick looked up and saw Irma floating in the air. He waved to her, giving Irma the signal to fly down and greet her boyfriend.

"Wow! You took out all those freaks?" Irma asked in wonder.

"All by myself," Nick replied, holding Oathkeeper and Fatal Crest triumphantly. Nick gave Irma a look that clearly said, _Actually, I had a little help from you._

Irma looked back at Nick with a gaze that clearly said, _I know you did._

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Meanwhile, Will and Hay Lin finally defeated all of the Large Bodies that were swarming the Infinite City.

"I hope Nick and Irma are having better luck," Hay Lin stated, drop-kicking a new Large Body out of the way.

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Speaking of which, Nick and Irma were walking through the now barren Meridian Plains, searching for a way to go after Nerissa and Xemnas, when all of a sudden, Irma noticed a mysterious man standing on top of one of the stone archways that served as a sort of "gate pass" through the Meridian Plains.

"Who's that?" Irma asked, curiously pointing to the armored figure. "And is that a keyblade he's holding?"

Nick looked up and saw it for himself: the armored figure was holding a gigantic keyblade.

Before they could wonder any longer, the armored man jumped down from the rock face and landed directly in front of Nick and Irma.

Suddenly, everything around Nick except for the armored man was enveloped in complete darkness, at least to him.

"What's going on?" Nick asked. The man did not answer, staying perfectly still, but Nick did hear some words being spoken.

_Ah... I see you are special, too._

"Nick?" Irma's voice rang out. The darkness evaporated. "What's going on?"

"What does he mean by 'special'?" Nick asked.

"I don't think he said anything," Irma responded. Suddenly, it became clear to Nick that this armored man was 'speaking' to Nick alone using this mysterious darkness.

_That's a familiar sound._

Again, the darkness came when the armored figure spoke to Nick. Said boy noticed that a mysterious, lattice-shaped blue electricity was manifesting itself on the figure's massive keyblade.

_You look like him._

That got Nick a little peeved. "What's that supposed to mean?" Nick shouted.

Suddenly, the figure turned towards him, effortlessly swinging his gargantuan keyblade and slamming it into the ground. A powerful beam of electricity shot from the tip of said keyblade right towards Nick, who conversely brought the Oathkeeper up and batted the beam away, sending it to crash far away.

The armored man spoke again.

_Which means you are not complete._

"Who the heck do you think you are?" Nick shouted. Beside him, Irma brandished Mysterious Abyss.

_I chase. So you may call me the Chaser._

"What do you want?" Irma asked, keyblade at the ready.

_Incomplete ones... your power..._

Nick and Irma shifted into battle stances.

_Allow me to test your power._

Nothing more said, the Chaser darted forward, surprisingly light on his feet despite the seemingly overwhelming weight of his giant keyblade. Aiming quick and rapid attacks for the two lovers, the Chaser showed no intent of letting up.

Thankfully, Nick and Irma were just as skilled in their own keyblade attacks, rapidly parrying the attacks brought forth by the Chaser.

"Man, what is up with this guy?" Nick exclaimed, continuously deflecting attacks. "He's not giving us a chance to attack! And I don't know how he can handle that thing so efficiently!"

"I guess it's my turn, then," Irma noted, letting the full force of an attack drive on Mysterious Abyss. Reacting fast, Irma reached out with a backlash spin that effectively stopped the Chaser's attack and knocked him back a ways.

Seemingly unfazed, the Chaser held out his clunky hand, charging up another electric sphere of energy. Once fired, it seemed to track Nick and Irma to an extent. Nick was ready for the attack, absorbing the electric energy into the Oathkeeper and firing it back in the form of a massive energy beam. The attack struck home and knocked the Chaser far back, causing him to drop his keyblade.

Once the Chaser was up, he spoke again, once more surrounding Nick with darkness as he spoke.

_Truly fascinating. This is going to be enjoyable._

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nick shouted, Oathkeeper raised and charging straight for the man. In a blaze of glory, Nick leaped high into the air, aiming a powerful blitz attack straight for the Chaser.

However, at the zenith of his jump, the Chaser suddenly turned black and white, and Nick's keyblade only struck air.

_In your present state you probably cannot understand._

Nick looked angrily at the Chaser.

_In any case, the time when we can meet again will doubtless come._

That said, the Chaser began walking away.

"Wait, who are you?" Irma shouted towards the retreating Chaser.

The darkness came one last time.

_I am... a mere shell._

Once the darkness lifted, there was no sign of the enigmatic "Chaser" ever being there.

"Just who was that?" Irma asked, steadying herself on Nick.

"I have no idea, Irma," was Nick's simple reply.

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"So, what happened to the duo of destruction?" Irma asked.

Nick looked down at the now-empty Meridian Plains and saw a weird-looking portal.

"I'm guessing they went through there," Nick replied.

"Bingo," a mysterious voice said. "You do seem to pick things up quickly."

The two lovers quickly turned around and spotted another man wearing black robes, but this one had very long, spiky red hair.

"I'm guessing you're with Organization XIII as well?" Nick said.

"You're good," the man said. "But I'm not with them anymore. Those guys are too stuffy for their own good. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"Were you the one who ordered Nerissa to send that fake Kairi down to distract us?" Irma asked.

Axel thought for a minute. "Sorry. Don't know any Nerissa. As for Kairi, she's in our castle dungeon."

"You do realize that Sora's going to be pissed if he hears that," Nick replied, drawing Oathkeeper and Fatal Crest. Axel looked mesmerized.

"Roxas?" Axel asked.

"Um, the name's Nick. Got it memorized?" Nick replied, causing Irma to giggle.

"It's just that you remind me of another member... the only one I really liked. He made me feel... as if I really had a heart. Looking at you now, I kinda feel the same way."

"Really?" Nick replied, cautiously holding his Keyblades.

"Really. Anyway, I digress. Go. Find Kairi before Xemnas finds you out." With that, Axel disappeared.

Nick looked at the portal that led to the Organization's world. "Should we tell the others?" Irma asked.

"Already did," Nick replied. "They're on their way."

No sooner did Nick say that than Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the other Guardians fly onto the scene.

"So, this is it, huh?" Sora asked. "That's where Kairi is?"

"Apparently," Nick replied. "Maybe Riku's there, too."

"Well, what are we waiting for? A written invitation? Something like 'This way to the freaky world of Organization XIII, trouble is our specialty, glad to have you'? Let's finish this!" Irma exclaimed.

Saying nothing, everyone walked into the portal. However, Irma stopped Nick before he could enter. She took Nick's hand and placed something in it.

"Here. I found this in the Infinite City. I thought you should have it," Irma said. Nick looked at what Irma had given him. It was a keychain that looked like a shining violet rose. As he looked at it, the keychain began glowing and eventually formed into a keyblade.

Nick studied his new keyblade. The handle held a set of spikes all around it. The blade looked like a flower stem, and the tip was in the shape of a dandelion. The words _Divine Rose_ popped into Nick's head as he held the Keyblade.

Nick smiled at Irma before heading into the portal, his lover trailing close behind.

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_Alley to Between_

He knew exactly what this Organization XIII was planning.

He knew pretty much everything there was to know about their little business with a force known as Kingdom Hearts.

He knew this dark city like the back of his hand.

And it seemed...

...the Guardians may need his help.

Suddenly, he noticed a mysterious presence behind him. He quickly brought up Fenrir, but was knocked out before he could react.

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_Fragment Crossing_

The group had split up to scout out this mysterious dark city that formed the core of the Organization's stronghold. It seemed to mesmerize them. The dark buildings were literally high-rise and seemed to ascend forever. In the downtown district sat a mysterious skyscraper that seemed to glow the colors of the moon.

And, in the very center of it all sat a humongous castle emblazoned with the symbol of the Nobodies.

The city had given itself a fitting name, I suppose...

The World That Never Was.

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_Riddled Impasse_

In a mysterious room somewhere in the castle, a hooded man with long, blue hair was reporting to Xemnas.

"Master Xemnas," the blue-haired man said. "Shall I proceed with the plan?"

"Indeed you may, Saïx," Xemnas replied, turning to a boy tied to a nearby pillar. Xemnas quickly disappeared.

"Your lover will make the perfect bait," Saïx said, turning to the boy.

"HEY!"

Saïx turned around to see Cornelia, quite enraged, flying onto the scene, flanked by Taranee and Donald.

"Let go of Caleb!" Cornelia exclaimed, materializing Seismic Star.

"I don't think so, little girl," Saïx replied, drawing what appeared to be a claymore. "You have fallen right into my trap."

With that, a mysterious light shined down from the heart-shaped moon and cast its radiance over Saïx. "Moon, shine down!"

The claymore he was holding began glowing with a blue light. Before anyone could react, Saïx began slamming the ground rapidly with his weapon, releasing numerous shockwaves of energy.

"Look out!" Donald shouted, casting Reflect to protect the team from Saïx's attack, but it was no use, as he just kept attacking.

"All shall be lost to you!" Saïx shouted.

"Not on my watch," Cornelia said angrily, charging straight for Saïx.

"Pathetic," Saïx said to himself before continuing his assault. What he didn't expect was for Cornelia to summon a large quantity of rocks and fling each one for him. The large boulders pelted at Saïx's very non-being for a while, until he'd had just about enough.

"Very well, then. If you don't care for how you defeat me, let's see how you care for your pathetic lover," Saïx said, aiming an attack straight for Caleb.

But, all of a sudden, he stopped, feeling something pierce through his body. He looked down and saw what appeared to be a thin, but ultra-sharp needle made of rock protruding from his very essence. He looked over to Cornelia, whose hand was glowing a bright green and yellow.

"I warned you," Cornelia said smugly.

She released the rock blade from Saïx, who promptly fell to the ground, clutching his chest as he slowly began to fade away.

"Kingdom Hearts..." he said weakly, raising a hand towards the heart-shaped moon. "Where... is my... heart?"

And with that, Saïx disappeared completely.

"Wow, Cornelia, that was awesome!" Donald exclaimed, but Cornelia had already rushed off to free Caleb from his bindings.

"Caleb! You're all right!" Cornelia exclaimed as Caleb dropped to the ground, holding what appeared to be a Keyblade.

"I am now, thanks to you," the rebel leader replied, and with that, the two shared a long kiss.

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_Memory's Skyscraper_

Meanwhile, Goofy, Will and Hay Lin had decided on trying a bit of aerial reconnaissance, scouting the skies for any sign of Organization XIII.

"See anything, Will?" Hay Lin asked as she flew over a long pathway that extended from the top of the castle.

"Nothing yet, Hay Lin," Will replied. "I don't know who these Organization XIII freaks are, but they've caused enough trouble in our world!"

"That's what we do," a familiar voice said, causing Will and Hay Lin to turn around and materialize Hero's Crest and Sword of the Storm, respectively. Standing there was Xigbar!

"You little sneaks are clever," Xigbar said in a mocking tone.

"We don't have time for you!" Will shouted.

"Move it, or we'll MAKE you move!" Hay Lin added.

"Me? Move? As if! My orders are to destroy all of you Guardian losers," Xigbar retorted, drawing his dual light guns.

"All right, then. You asked for it," Will stated, facing down Xigbar.

Suddenly, Xigbar disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Goofy asked, only to have something knock him down.

The girls saw Xigbar standing upside down in the air, still firing his guns.

"How's that possible?" Hay Lin asked, deflecting a large number of lasers with Sword of the Storm.

"I control space and time itself," Xigbar stated with a grin on his face. "That basically means you can't win!"

"Yeah?" Will replied. "Then you obviously don't know us very well!"

With that, Will teleported around, reacting to the shots Xigbar fired, rapidly kicking the laser bullets back towards their owner.

"Clever little sneak," Xigbar retorted before joining his guns together and slowly pulling the trigger. As he did, the gun's barrel began glowing brightly.

"Oh, crud! MOVE!" Will shouted as Xigbar fired a gigantic bullet that struck the top of one of the skyscrapers, blowing a massive hole in it.

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_The Brink of Despair_

Nick, Irma, and Sora had chosen to check out the path that led to the castle where Xemnas and Nerissa were waiting.

"So this is really it, huh?" Irma said, cautiously twirling Mysterious Abyss behind her, as if an enemy were about to ambush them.

"Must be. That castle's got 'Nobody Fortress' practically written all over it," Nick replied, practicing with Divine Rose.

"It's definitely oddball enough," Sora continued, looking up at what seemed to be the moon.

"Hey, why is the moon shaped like a heart?" Nick asked, also looking up at said moon.

Suddenly, Sora gasped in shock. "Guys. That's no moon!"

"You sure?" Irma asked.

"More than anything," Sora replied.

"Okay, then if it's not a moon, what is it?" Nick asked, holding Divine Rose in front of him.

Only two words escaped Sora's mouth.

"Kingdom Hearts..."

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The World That Never Was suddenly turned into an explosion of activity as the separate groups did battle with what little was left of Organization XIII.

Cornelia, Taranee and Donald had taken out Saïx, the Organization's number VII, in order to save Caleb, rebel leader and Cornelia's lover.

Will, Hay Lin, and Goofy were fighting Xigbar, the number II, at the very top of Memory's Skyscraper.

Nick, Irma, and Sora were trying to find a way into the castle through The Brink of Despair.

It appeared that this would be the final stand.

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Xigbar was shooting giant bullets of energy everywhere, not giving Will, Goofy, or Hay Lin any time to counterattack.

"You can't beat me now, dudes!" Xigbar shouted, feeling very confident. He felt like he was the only one who could take on these freaks. He wasn't afraid. He was never afraid. He was...

"Take THAT!"

...knocked forward by a sneak attack from the redhead.

"I've had enough of this!" Will shouted, Hero's Crest glowing brightly.

"So have I!" Hay Lin added, Sword of the Storm glowing.

Will and Hay Lin crossed their Keyblades together, and their tips were surrounded by a spiral of energy, like whenever Sora sealed a keyhole or opened up a new road. After a few seconds, the Keyblades shot a bright beam of light, which quickly pierced through Xigbar.

As Xigbar began to fade away, he started talking again. "You... you girls are good. If... if you see a kid named Roxas, tell him... that his time... is up..." And with that, Xigbar disappeared.

"YES!" Will and Hay Lin shouted, giving each other a high five.

"That's another one down," Goofy said. "I think only that Xemnas guy is left."

"We'd better find the others," Hay Lin said. "We're going to need full Guardian power if we're going to take on Xemnas AND Nerissa at the same time!"

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_Hall of Empty Melodies_

After a while, everyone, including Caleb, had united in the Hall of Empty Melodies, discussing what to do next.

"Nerissa alone was tough enough. If she teams up with Xemnas, I don't know if we can win!" Nick said, swinging Divine Rose all the while.

"You're looking for Xemnas, right?" a mysterious, yet familiar voice, said.

"How many times is this going to happen?" Nick said before turning around and looking at yet another guy in a black robe. The weird thing about this guy was that he was carrying two Keyblades!

"I can help you find them," the boy replied.

"Let me guess. You're Roxas, right?" Nick stated.

"Why do YOU have the Keyblade, Roxas?" Sora asked.

"Because, Sora... I'm a part of you. I'm your Nobody."

Everyone stared on, too stunned to speak. Suddenly, Irma spoke up. "Let me see if I've got this right, Roxas. You were born as Sora's Nobody when Sora attacked himself with Riku's Dark Keyblade at Hollow Bastion, but you couldn't remember Sora because he wasn't a Heartless for very long, right?"

Roxas nodded. "You're pretty good."

"I have Sora to thank for that," Irma said, quickly sticking her tongue out at Cornelia and turning back to Roxas.

"Okay. If you're with the Organization, why did you betray them, Roxas?" Irma asked.

"I wanted to see Sora," was Roxas's simple reply. "I can use the Keyblade because I'm Sora's Nobody. That's probably why the Organization wanted me in their ranks."

"I fought with Riku in the city once. I beat him, but the next time we met, he'd used the power of darkness and defeated me. I don't remember much after that."

"Just a while after I met Axel again, I finally remembered why I had been chosen to join the Organization. Everything after that was a blank."

Everyone looked on as Roxas finished his tale.

"Wow," Caleb said, holding his Fenrir Keyblade. "I've heard some incredible stories, but nothing quite like this."

"Chosen wielders of the Keyblade. You must find and destroy Xemnas, the Organization's last survivor. I'll show you the way," Roxas said, holding out his Keyblades and using them to open a portal to where Xemnas was waiting. Roxas began disappearing via a column of darkness. "Oh, and if you see a girl named Naminé, tell her I'm waiting."

Once Roxas had vanished, Nick looked into the portal and saw both Nerissa and Xemnas in front of Kingdom Hearts!

"Come on! We can't let them take Kingdom Hearts!" Nick shouted, and with that, everyone dived into the rift.

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_The Altar of Naught_

Xemnas raised his hands and beckoned towards Kingdom Hearts. "My Kingdom Hearts... lend me your power so we may become complete together..."

"Xemnas!" Nick shouted, drawing Oathkeeper and Divine Rose, flanked by Sora, Donald, Goofy, Caleb, and the Guardians.

"So. I was wondering who had done away with my accomplices," Xemnas responded emotionlessly.

"We're not letting you take Kingdom Hearts!" Nick exclaimed.

"Warriors of the keyblade," Xemnas proclaimed. "Go forth, and bring me more hearts."

"NO!!" everyone shouted, materializing their keyblades and thrusting them towards Xemnas.

"Denizens of light, answer this," Xemnas asked. "Why do you hate the darkness?"

"Aw, we don't hate it," Irma replied. "It's just kinda..." Irma began thinking of a good word to use. "...scary. But the world's made of light AND dark. They're sort of like brothers. One can't exist without the other, because darkness is always half of everything."

Irma slung Mysterious Abyss on her shoulder. "Kinda makes you wonder why we ARE scared of the dark..."

"Then allow me another question," Xemnas continued. "You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark, never given a choice?"

"That's simple," Nick replied. "It's because you mess up our worlds."

"That may be. But... what other choice might we have had?" Xemnas explained.

"Oh, just give it a rest!" Sora shouted, angrily swinging the Kingdom Key. "You're Nobodies! You don't even exist! _You're not sad about anything!_"

Xemnas laughed. "Very good. You don't miss a thing. I cannot feel... sorrow. No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think... what you feel... or how you exist."

"Oh, don't you give me that!" Nick shouted, charging for Xemnas.

Xemnas raised his hands again, and a bright circle of light surrounded the two. When it cleared, everyone but Nick and Xemnas had disappeared, and the two were standing in front of Memory's Skyscraper.

"What kind of game is this, Xemnas?" Nick shouted.

"I wish to test your strength as the Keyblade Bearer," Xemnas replied, holding out his hands and surrounding Nick with dark crystals that slowly sapped his strength. Xemnas quickly leapt to the top of the skyscraper. Nick ran up to the base of the high tower, and focusing on the power of his Keyblade, dispelled the crystals and looked up at Xemnas.

With that, he leapt and started running up the sky scraper, Oathkeeper and Divine Rose trailing behind him. Xemnas also leapt from his position, materializing some kind of red energy blades in his hands.

As they drew closer, Nick reacted quickly, placing his hand on Xemnas' head and vaulting over him. He landed on the side of the skyscraper, but quickly propelled himself back towards Xemnas. He struck with Oathkeeper, knocking Xemnas downwards a ways. Nick quickly came back for more, continually attacking until he eventually drove the Keyblades into Xemnas' stomach, slamming him clear into the skyscraper, a sort of shockwave emanating from Xemnas at the point of impact.

As Nick dropped to the ground, Xemnas fell, quite visibly stunned. Nick took advantage of this moment and began attacking, ending in the telekinetic sweep attack he used on Nerissa at the Battle of Meridian Plains. The force of the attack knocked Xemnas far back. Nick was about to attack again, but Xemnas was surrounded by dark energy, and Nick's Keyblades only struck air. The dark ball moved right behind Nick, and Xemnas came out of it attacking relentlessly (but quite gracefully) with his laser swords. A few of the attacks knocked Nick straight into the air, just as Xemnas expected. What Xemnas _didn't_ expect was for Nick to make a quick aerial recovery and continue his own assault, mercilessly slamming the Keyblades into his very being. Before Nick could deliver the finishing move, Xemnas blocked the attack with his laser blades. Nick hopped back and charged forward.

"Guard!" Xemnas shouted, conjuring up a glowing shield. Nick couldn't react in time (or so Xemnas thought) and slammed into the shield, its power knocking him far back. As Nick lay there, Xemnas grinned. However, his grin quickly faded.

"Got you."

Before Xemnas could turn around, Nick began attacking, slamming Oathkeeper and Divine Rose into Xemnas' very being. After a while of this, Nick performed a step vault onto Xemnas' head and leapt to the very top of the skyscraper, again using his terminal velocity to aim a final attack straight for Xemnas. Xemnas put up yet another shield, but it proved no use, as Nick cut through the shield and struck.

As Xemnas clutched his wounded chest, Memory's Skyscraper evaporated, and Nick was once again surrounded by his friends.

"Not so tough now, are you, Xemnas?" Nick replied.

It was just then that Nick noticed that Xemnas wasn't on the platform, but he was trying to merge with Kingdom Hearts!

"O Kingdom Hearts," Xemnas said, feeding on the power of the massive heart. "It seems we must begin anew. Lend me your strength so we may be complete."

"Xemnas! DON'T! You don't know what that kind of power will do to you!" Will shouted.

"Hearts quivering with hatred..."

"Xemnas! STOP!" Nick shouted.

"Hearts burning with rage..."

"You'll never win!" Irma shouted.

"Hearts scarred by envy... That fool Ansem said that the heart's true nature was beyond our understanding. Well, it isn't beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!"

Suddenly, Kingdom Hearts began glowing brightly, covering the entire area in a bright light. When it cleared, Xemnas had disappeared, leaving only a glowing portal behind, one that looked like it could close at any minute.

"We have to stop them!" Sora exclaimed, everyone rushing for the portal, only to be stopped by Nick.

"You guys, wait!" Nick shouted. "I don't like the looks of this. That portal looks extremely unstable. Who knows what it could do to us?"

"But we need to stop them! I don't want our world to be destroyed!" Will exclaimed.

"Only two people can get through that portal without it collapsing on us," Nick explained. He turned to the portal. "I'm going in."

Before he could walk in, however, he felt someone stop him. It was Irma. "Nick... I'm going with you. I couldn't stand to lose you."

"You guys do realize that if that portal closes, you'll never be able to come back, even if you manage to defeat Nerissa _and_ Xemnas!" Will exclaimed, worried about her friends' safety.

"I know that, Will," Nick said in a soft tone – one that didn't sound like him at all. "And I'm willing to make that sacrifice for my friends."

Will nodded in understanding.

"Everybody, I need you to do me one last favor, okay? When Irma and I go in, I want you to seal the portal with your Keyblades, so those freaks can't get out and cause anymore trouble in our world," Nick explained. Everyone nodded.

"I'll miss you guys," Cornelia said, a rare moment of emotion washing over her.

"We'll be fine. I promise that we'll find a way out one day."

Nick turned to Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"Sora. Kairi's waiting for you on Destiny Islands, right?"

"But what about Riku?" Sora replied.

"He just contacted me. He's waiting, too," Nick replied. Holding Oathkeeper out, it shot a beam of light towards the other side of the Altar of Naught, and opened a portal leading to the Destiny Islands.

"You guys are the best friends I could have EVER asked for," Nick said. "This last battle is for all of us."

Nick turned to his lover. "You ready?"

Irma nodded, materializing Mysterious Abyss. "As I'll ever be."

Together, Nick and Irma walked into the portal. As per Nick's request, everyone on the scene who wielded a Keyblade raised it towards the portal. The mystical blades began shining brightly. After a few seconds, many beams of light flowed straight into the portal, closing it off from the realm of light.

"Nick... Irma... I know you can do it," Will said to herself.

In the creepy subspace realm, Nick and Irma began wandering around for a bit, wondering where to head next. All of a sudden, all four of the Knights of Vengeance appeared in front of the two. Nick held up Oathkeeper, which was glowing brightly.

"I don't have time for the likes of you!" Nick shouted, striking with Oathkeeper. A beam of light tore through the Knights, making them disappear instantly.

"So. Your little blade has more power than I imagined," Nerissa's voice echoed across the realm of nothingness.

"Heroes from the realm of light," Xemnas continued. "I will not allow it to end this way. Not yet. If light and darkness are eternal, then we nothings must be the same... eternal."

"You're right," Irma responded. "Light and darkness are eternal. Nothing probably goes on forever, too. But guess what, you freaks?"

"That doesn't mean YOU'RE eternal!" Nick retorted as Nerissa drew the Dark Keyblade.

Irma looked on as Nerissa was about to strike with the Dark Keyblade, but Nick easily countered the strike. "I'll take that, thank you," Nick said sarcastically, doing a backflip and snatching the Dark Keyblade out of Nerissa's hands.

"What? Why aren't you being consumed by the darkness?" Nerissa asked in shock after seeing Nick in a fighting stance with the Dark Keyblade and Oathkeeper, respectively.

"You said it yourself, Nerissa. The Dark Keyblade feeds on a person's dark thoughts. I don't have a single one in my head," Nick explained. "So there."

"So, you're smarter than I thought you were," Nerissa replied. She turned to Xemnas. "I'm sorry if I have to do this."

With that, Nerissa materialized another Dark Keyblade and struck Xemnas with it.

"Why... you traitor..." Xemnas said before breaking up, his remains surrounding Nerissa. A bright flash engulfed the area, and when it cleared, Nerissa had changed. She was now in her teenage form, but wearing Xemnas' black and white robes.

"I hope you like oblivion, because that's where the two of you are headed!" Nerissa shouted.

"Stop your yammering and bring it on!" Nick retorted, and together, he and Irma charged for Nerissa, thus beginning the battle that would decide the fate of the world.

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"Fools," Nerissa said to herself as Nick and Irma charged for her, their Keyblades raised.

"Fools rush together, fools die together," Nerissa stated before grabbing the charging duo and throwing them into the air. She disappeared, only to teleport to where Nick and Irma were.

"Look out!" Irma exclaimed as Nerissa began firing numerous bolts of white lightning for the duo. Nick was able to react quickly, doing a sort of lunge around the many bolts that came at him from all sides.

Irma was doing the same thing, performing a sort of reversal around the energy beams while deflecting others with Mysterious Abyss.

As Nick continued dodging the bolts, he saw Nerissa sitting back and watching the show. _Big mistake, Nerissa,_ Nick thought, using his Reversal ability to his advantage. He began dodging around, each dodge bringing him closer to the unsuspecting Nerissa. Once he'd reached her, he sprung his attack on the ex-Guardian, slamming her around with her own weapon. After a while of this, Nerissa teleported away at high speeds, and Nick and Irma dropped to the ground.

"Where is she?" Irma asked, only to be answered with a strike to the back from Nerissa's weapon – or rather, _Xemnas_' weapon. Apparently, when Nerissa absorbed Xemnas, she gained all of his abilities.

Just as Nerissa was going to aim another attack for the vulnerable brunette, she was quickly met with the business end of Oathkeeper, the silver and gold blade slamming into her chest and knocking her back a ways. Nick rushed over and helped Irma up. "Thanks," Irma said to Nick.

"No problem. I love you, Irma, and I'm not about to let this corrupted freak get the best of you," Nick replied.

Suddenly, Nick could feel Nerissa's presence extremely close by. Irma quickly held her hands out towards Nick, and then thrust them upward, surrounding Nick with a column of water that surprised Nerissa and knocked her back again. This time, Irma joined in the attack, the three Keyblades relentlessly slamming into Nerissa. Again, Nerissa teleported away after a while of this.

The ex-keeper of the Heart reappeared far above Nick and Irma, showering the vicinity with laser bolts.

"Lasers, Nerissa? You seriously need to get a new act!" Nick shouted, countering the lasers with bursts of dark energy from the Dark Keyblade. Suddenly, Nerissa began teleporting again, although this time, she wouldn't stop.

"I can't follow her like this! We've got to find some way to get her to stop moving like Chris on a sugar rush!" Irma exclaimed, her head quickly turning to try and keep up with Nerissa's constant movement.

Nick was standing still, his eyes closed and focusing on something. A few seconds later, his eyes shot open. He swung the Dark Keyblade behind him, and incredibly, it stopped Nerissa from teleporting. Wasting no time, he did a sort of 360, switching weapons and attacking with Oathkeeper. Nerissa was growing angry.

"Enough of this mindless flitting!" Nerissa shouted, swinging her own Dark Keyblade and catching Nick off-guard. "Can you spare... a heart, Nick?"

"What are you talking..." Nick's sentence was cut short as Nerissa struck him with a beam of dark energy that lifted him up into the air. As he hung there, Nick could feel his energy slowly draining away. He struggled to escape Nerissa's grip, but it was to no avail.

"Nick!" Irma shouted, rushing forward, only to be knocked back by another Nerissa. She looked up at Nick, who was starting to fade away. "You're going to pay for this, Nerissa..."

Suddenly, the Oathkeeper materialized in Irma's hand. She looked in wonder at it, then looked back towards Nick and Nerissa. She knew what she had to do. Raising the Oathkeeper, she charged for her lover.

Again, the Nerissa clone lashed out at the brunette, but she simply swatted it away with Oathkeeper. Yet another clone attacked, but was also smacked away. By the time the 3rd clone started its attack, Irma had officially had just about enough.

"I'm tired of these games! TAKE THIS!" Irma shouted, raising the Oathkeeper towards the Nerissa clone. A rapid burst of energy beams shot from the mystic blade and slammed into the Nerissa clone, knocking it back a ways.

She continued charging for Nick, using her new attack whenever Nerissa's clones got close, and in no time at all, she had reached Nerissa. Taking quick action, she leapt into the air and struck, sending Nerissa flying and releasing Nick. Irma continued the attack by performing a somersault spin attack followed by a hard uppercut that sent Nerissa into the air.

"Whoa. Thanks, Irma," Nick said, the Oathkeeper returning to his hand. "I owe you one."

"You can pay me back later," Irma replied. "We need to take care of this little freak before we can discuss a useful payment method."

Suddenly, Nerissa began attacking Nick with the Dark Keyblade, but Nick was expecting the attack, performing a step vault over Nerissa and continuing with a vicious spin attack that knocked Nerissa off balance.

Suddenly, Nerissa's hands were surrounded with electricity and immeasurable dark energy. "I'm tired of playing around with the likes of you!" Nerissa shouted as she raised her hands. Nick and Irma were quickly surrounded by a swirl of darkness.

"You're heading for oblivion now!" Nerissa exclaimed, countless laser bolts appearing – all of them aimed for Nick and Irma.

"DIE!" With that, she thrust her hands towards the Keyblade wielders.

"Incoming!" Irma shouted.

At least 20 bolts shot for the duo, but Nick easily deflected them all with Oathkeeper. "Irma! Use your Keyblade to deflect those lasers!"

"Got it!" the brunette replied, swinging Mysterious Abyss.

Together, the duo began deflecting nearly every bolt that came their way, and believe this author when he says there were literally _thousands_ of lasers!

Nick and Irma were thoroughly exhausted, but they wouldn't stop deflecting the lasers. They had to keep going.

The world as they knew it was counting on them.

Eventually, the barrage came to an end. Suddenly, Irma found herself far away from Nerissa, who was aiming a laser sword straight for Nick.

"Nick!" Irma shouted, picking up Mysterious Abyss and charging forward. Just before she could get to Nick, Nerissa grabbed Irma by her shirt collar and lifted her into the air. Nick got up and tried to save his lover, but Nerissa only pushed him back.

Nerissa suddenly swung her laser sword and slammed it straight into Irma's back, causing the brunette to scream in pain.

The assault only got worse, as Nerissa continuously slammed the laser sword into Irma, knocking her around like a rag doll. Nick's anger kept growing each time Nerissa struck.

Nick suddenly found himself charging forward, brandishing Oathkeeper. Nerissa slammed her laser sword into Irma's back again, not noticing that Irma had just tossed Mysterious Abyss to Nick, who readily caught it.

Nerissa then slammed her laser sword into Irma's side, but that was as far as the ex-Guardian got before Nick struck Nerissa with Oathkeeper and Mysterious Abyss together, letting Irma drop to the ground, clutching the spots where she'd been attacked.

"You're going to pay for that, Nerissa!" Nick shouted, dodging around a strike from the laser sword and slamming Mysterious Abyss into Nerissa's stomach. Nick performed a rapid series of attacks with the dual keyblades before stepping back and lashing out with a spin attack, followed by an uppercut with Oathkeeper. After that assault, Nick dropped to the ground, spinning both blades in his hands before jumping straight upwards, the dual Keyblades held in an X formation. Nick struck hard with both blades, knocking Nerissa high into the air. He landed next to Irma and held out Oathkeeper. Irma nodded in understanding, reaching out and letting her hand rest on Nick's. The Oathkeeper glowed for a second as the two aimed the keyblade towards the flailing Nerissa. A bright circle of light formed around Oathkeeper before it shot a beam of energy that quickly pierced through Nerissa, stunning the former keeper of the Heart.

Nick charged again, this time wielding Fatal Crest alongside Oathkeeper, both keyblades glowing brightly. "I've had enough of your little games, Nerissa! You try to screw up our world, steal our friends, AND try to destroy us! I should have destroyed you when I had the chance!"

Knowing that there was nothing she could do, Nerissa held her arms up in a vain attempt to block Nick's incoming attack.

"Worst of all, you almost kill my girlfriend! I'll never forgive you for that!" Nick was getting ever closer to Nerissa.

Irma smiled weakly, taking her time to recover from Nerissa's assault.

Nick jumped, and in a blaze of glory, struck and tore both Keyblades straight through Nerissa. Nick looked back in triumph as Nerissa slowly began to disappear, consumed by her own dark power.

Nerissa's last words were "Cursed... keyblade..." before disappearing completely, leaving Nick and Irma in the realm of nothing. Nick picked up the Dark Keyblade that Nerissa had left behind and threw it up into the air. Nick focused and struck with the Oathkeeper, easily cleaving the Dark Keyblade in two, which quickly evaporated. Nick let Oathkeeper disappear from sight and walked up to his girlfriend.

"You feeling okay, Irma?" Nick asked his lover.

"I've been worse," Irma replied, rubbing her shoulder. "Now, for the $20,000,000 question... how do we get out of here?"

Nick tried swinging Oathkeeper like he did whenever he had to open a rift to somewhere, but nothing came up. There was no keyhole to open a new road, either.

"I guess... we don't," Nick replied.

"But you know something, Nick?" Irma stated. "I don't really care. As long as I'm with you, I'm happy where we are."

"Same here, Irma."

Nick walked over and sat down by Irma, draping his arm around her. "At least we know that the realm of light is safe now. The others are back home. Sora's back with Kairi and Riku."

"I guess we did good then, huh?" the brunette replied, letting her head rest on Nick's shoulder.

They kept that position for a while.

"I often wonder why the council picked you to wield the Keyblade," Irma said softly.

"...you know, I've been wondering about that, too. I think it was probably because I was the only one who could stop Cassidy when she was corrupted by the Dark Keyblade," Nick responded. "I can still remember the promise I had made to Cassidy before this all happened. Maybe that's why I received the Oathkeeper." Nick let Oathkeeper materialize in his hands.

"I see... because the Oathkeeper represents an oath... a promise..." Irma replied, letting her hand rest on Nick's. "Like the one you and I made..." Suddenly, as if it was reacting to Irma's touch, the Oathkeeper began glowing with a bright gold light. Nick and Irma could only watch as the mystical blade floated into the air, covering the realm of nothingness in a bright light. Nick and Irma shielded their eyes from the flash that soon erupted from Oathkeeper. When the impossibly bright light cleared, the two lovers stared in awe at Nick's keyblade.

Its silver and gray hue had shifted to a brilliant gold, and the jewel in the hilt of the blade had changed from a star to a heart. The keychain had changed from a star to a combination of Nick and Irma's element symbols.

"It used the power of our love... it transformed..." Irma said, breathless.

"Who would have thought?" Nick replied as the newly reformed Oathkeeper floated down so Nick could take it. Once his fingers wrapped around the handle of the blade, he felt an incredible power surge through his very being. Smiling triumphantly, Nick held the new Oathkeeper out. Its tip began glowing with a brilliant light. Before Irma could react, the mystical blade shot a beam of light forward, and a portal opened – leading back to Heatherfield!

"Home!" Irma exclaimed.

"Shall we?" Nick beckoned, letting Irma walk into the portal first, Nick soon following.

Inside Irma's house, Will and the others had just explained everything to Anna and Thomas Lair about the great battle and how their daughter wouldn't be returning home. Just as Anna was about to start crying, however, a portal opened near the doorway, and Nick and Irma flew out of it. Nick did a quick swing with Oathkeeper and the portal closed.

"Irma!" everyone except Nick and Irma themselves shouted, and suddenly, the two lovers found themselves receiving huge hugs from everybody present.

When it had all settled, Will looked at the two. "How'd you get home?"

Nick held up the reformed Oathkeeper. "Love. And a little bit of magic."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_Epilogue, and a little trailer for "W.I.T.C.H.: The Keyblade Warriors"_

The scene fades from black to a dusty desert where you can see a shrub. The sun is setting.

The Ansem Reports (starting from 0) start scrolling down the view. As they scroll, words appear:

_The Keyblade is said  
__to hold phenomenal power._

A flash to the blade part of an Axe-type keyblade, then a strange (and large) metallic object. While the metallic object is showing, more words appear:

_One legend says  
__Its wielder saved the world,  
__while another says that  
__he wrought chaos and ruin upon it._

While these words show, it switches back to the first view (with the sun setting) and the reports continue to scroll.

A flash to a hand holding the handle of an axe-type keyblade. The hand has a glove over it.

A quick flash to a mysterious figure standing over the metallic object, holding the axe-type keyblade over his shoulder (picture Sora), then back to that same sunset view. More words appear:

_I must know  
__what this keyblade is._

_A key opens doors._

_ (Ansem Report 8 & 9)_

As the words disappear, another flash to the hand, and then, a flash to the bottom part of an armored figure's body. Another flash, and you see his entire body. One more flash, and his body is no longer blurred, and you can see him clear as day. He is wearing a yellow cape and kind of looks like a Power Ranger. His keyblade has no keychain.

The first armored figure turns his head to the right, and a female armored figure is shown walking up to him. She has a purple cape.

The first figure turns his head to the right, and a silver, quite shorter figure with a red cape is seen walking up.

It shows the first figure again, and he steps forward.

From left to right, Way to the Dawn, Kingdom Key, and the Royal Kingdom Key are seen sticking out of the sand. They all have keychains. The first figure walks towards them.

A new camera view of the first figure walking towards them, and the metallic figure disappears into dust.

The first figure pulls the Kingdom Key into his left hand, and the third pulls Way to the Dawn into his right. It is shown that the third figure already has a keyblade in his left, and he is holding it much the way that King Mickey does when he throws off his Organization coat. The third figure's keyblade also has no keychain.

And finally, the second figure (the female) takes the Royal Kingdom Key into her left hand. It is seen that she also was originally holding a keyblade (which resembles Oblivion) but like the others, it has no keychain.

An unexpected flash to many keyblades that were not visible before, surrounding the figures. Fenrir is clearly seen. Another quick flash shows even more, including Bond of Flame. NONE of these keyblades have keychains.

Another flash shows that the keyblades make a crossroads, which represent the four realms (Light, Dark, Present, and Twilight).

A boom, and all three figures look up at the path across from where the first figure came from, and a shadowy figure is seen walking towards them. There is sand all up in the air, so you can't get a good image of him.

A close up to him (but still very dusty in the air, so you can't really see him) and many words flash around, some staying on, some disappearing:

_Masters of keyblade  
__The lost two  
__Memory of Xehanort  
__Chasers  
__Thirteenth Order  
Keyblade Wars_

The words disappear and only these words appear:

_It all began with..._

The screen flashes to black:

_birth by sleep._

_fin... for now..._


End file.
